BATON ROUGE — This week in WBRZ history, a 20-hour traffic nightmare that still lives in the minds of residents more than a decade later struck Baton Rouge. 

On Aug. 21, 2012, a car and several 18-wheelers were involved in a crash on I-10 eastbound at Essen Lane. One of the big rigs was hauling the hazardous chemical isobutane. 

Law enforcement closed the interstate through Baton Rouge, causing havoc on surface streets as people tried to maneuver the wreck. More than 100,000 people used an alternate route, WBRZ reported at the time. 

A typical 15-minute drive on surface roads topped out at more than two hours as transportation leadership tried to reopen the interstate. 

The 18-wheeler could not be moved or unloaded, leaving one explosive solution. Fifty homes around the blast site had to be evacuated when State Police lit the fuse at midnight. 

The fire eventually burned out, and I-10 reopened ahead of the morning rush. 

Watch more WBRZ history here: