[dinoman]

MASON CITY, Iowa - A truck driver was cited after a load of chicken manure spilled out of his semi, covering a road for more than a mile in rural Cerro Gordo County.

"The end gate failed on the semi and that's what caused it," sheriff's Deputy Frank Hodak said of the spill, which happened Thursday on a two-lane road northeast of Mason City.

Hodak said the driver, Jay Daniel McDonough, 33, of Nora Springs, didn't realize there was a problem.

"No, not for a 1 1/2 miles. I think he went to turn on a different road and saw it," Hodak said.

The deputy said he had "no clue" how much manure spilled, but it was a lot.

"The whole southbound lane of the road was completely blocked. It was probably about 3 inches deep," Hodak said.

Heavy equipment, including a skidloader and endloader, was brought in to clean up the mess. The county then dumped sand on the road. Clean up took about 2 hours.

McDonough was cited by the Iowa Department of Motor Vehicle Enforcement with spilling a load on the highway, several gross over weight charges and improper load securement, the sheriff's office said.

Hodak said the road is fairly busy, but officials were able to divert traffic into the other lane and there were no accidents.

"A lot of people drove through it," Hodak said, adding that hey probably had to wash their cars.

"I had to wash mine," he said.