SHERMAN, Tex. -- A tanker full of butane gas rolled over at the intersection of U.S. Highway 82 and FM 1417 on Tuesday morning, causing a traffic mess at the busy Sherman intersection over for most of Tuesday and the evacuations of all buildings in a half-mile radius. Stephanie Brletic and Rashi Vats have more in our team coverage..

The tanker that rolled over just after 11 o’clock Tuesday morning was carrying 9,000 gallons of butane, an extremely flammable gas. That tanker is being emptied late Tuesday.

Authorities say their first priority was to keep everyone in the area safe, so they ordered nearby businesses and residents to evacuate.

Anyone within a half-mile radius was evacuated, and emergency responders also closed all routes leading to the accident scene.

Police say the evacuations were simply a safety precaution, but it will still be awhile before everyone can return to the area.

"We're hoping by 6 p.m. tonight, and now that's not written in stone, but our best estimate at this point in time is 6 p.m. this evening, and we'll be able to clear the area and get people back in their homes," Sgt. Bruce Dawsey of the Sherman Police Department said.

While there was a small diesel leak, no butane leaked out of the tanker. Still, the truck is being emptied so that it can be put back on its wheels.

Police say it is a slow process but it is going well.

"Everything, for lack of a better word, is running smoothly. It's unfortunate that it's inconvenient for residents in this area, but we're erring on the side of caution just in case something bad should happen," said Dawsey.

The woman driving the tanker suffered only minor injuries and should be OK. No one else was hurt.

People from a nearby nursing home were taken to Red Cross shelter at Fairview Baptist Church. We’re told all those people are said to be doing fine.

Accident causes multiple traffic delays across Sherman

Ever since the truck turned over Tuesday morning, traffic has been backed up. Rashi Vats has more on the most affected areas.

It's been a long day for the Sherman Police Department and TX-DOT. They have been directing traffic ever since 11:30 Tuesday morning when a tanker truck turned over.

Since the accident, commuters traveling on FM 1417, U.S. Highway 82, and many roads surrounding that major intersection have been forced to find alternate routes.

One Sherman school bus could not run its route, and those children had to be picked up from school.

TX-DOT officials say that the roads are still not open, and commuters should be expecting heavy traffic northbound on U.S. 75 and U.S. 82.

"We've got employees at every location that we've got closed off at trying to inform the public as we can with what happened and how they can make their alternate routes," TX-DOT area engineer Kevin Harris said.

Traffic has been diverted from the scene.

The Sherman Police Department says that they should have everything cleared up soon and traffic will return back to normal.

We're told Wednesday morning that all is clear and traffic is running smoothly.