It took almost 11 hours to clean up a mess of fish guts and burned up truck parts on Hwy 401 through Pickering.
A tractor trailer carrying a load of fish crashed in the westbound express lanes near Whites Rd at about 4 a.m, hitting a concrete barrier. The big rig burst into flames and was completely consumed by fire.
The driver was able to get out of the truck unhurt. He has been charged with careless driving.
Westbound express lanes of Hwy 401 were out of bounds from Whites Rd to Meadowvale Rd for the cleanup.
OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt says crews had to take their time cleaning up the mess for safety reasons.
The question that has been asked before is why it takes so long in Ontario to re-open a highway after an accident.
In Florida, the government has an agreement in place that gives tow companies a financial bonus if they clear up a mess within 90 minutes of being notified.
Some states also have "hold harmless" legislation that clears responders of any liability if they damage a vehicle while moving it off the scene to clear the roadway.
Schmidt suggests such legislation in Ontario would make the OPP's job easier.
"If we take a transport truck and start ripping it to pieces or dragging it off the highway, the company can come back and say that truck 2ould have been repaired had you not dragged it 10 miles down the road."
PC MPP Gila Martow brought forward a private member's bill last year that dealt with highway cleanup, but it died at committee level.
She was calling for a special team that would manage traffic messes.
"Just like we have paramedics, we have firefighters, we have OPP," she says.
Martow plans to keep pushing her ideas forward.
(With files from Siobhan Morris)