Leaking chicken parts cause slick pavement between Cairo, Wickliffe

Several “slick spots” along U.S. 51 between Cairo, Illinois, and Wickliffe, Kentucky, on Wednesday morning were believed to have been caused by chicken offal leaking from a truck traveling from Missouri into Kentucky.

Offal is a term used to describe inedible parts of a butchered animal.

Motorists reported the substance to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Ballard County Sheriff’s Department, according to a news release from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Highway crews responded by spreading sand on the pavement along a 4-mile stretch of highway from the Illinois side of the Cairo Bridge into Kentucky toward Wickliffe in an effort to improve driving conditions, the release stated.

Motorists are asked to use caution when driving in the vicinity of the spill.

“Efforts to clear the roadway will be lengthy,” according to the release.

Anyone with information about the leaking truck is asked to contact the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet at (270) 898-2431.