Qld highway to reopen after acid spill

A highway in northwest Queensland will reopen after a truck rolled and spilled 17,000 litres of sulfuric acid.

The Flinders Highway at Maxwelton, near Richmond, was closed on Monday afternoon to allow authorities to clean up the hazardous material.

The section of highway, between the Hopevale and Nondas West turn-offs, was expected to reopen at 6pm on Tuesday.

"All of the sulfuric acid from the damaged tanks has been emptied out and a recovery crew is currently separating them from the prime mover," police said in a statement.

The prime mover and first tank would be driven from the site as neither were damaged, they said.

The truck was carrying three tanks of sulfuric acid when it rolled.

One leaked, prompting authorities to establish a 10km exclusion zone.

The leak is just 100km from where an estimated 80,000 litres of sulfuric acid was spilt in a train derailment amid a drought-breaking deluge in late December.