CHAIN OF PONDS TOWNSHIP – Two truck drivers escaped serious injury after their tractor-trailer rigs collided about noon Monday on Route 27. One truck went over an embankment and spilled its load of logs; the other had its container ripped open.

Neither driver was seriously hurt, Maine State Police Trooper Scott Stevens said. They were both secured in the vehicles by seat belts.

Southbound traffic entering the state was stopped and backed up at the Canadian border in Coburn Gore for about two hours with northbound traffic in Chain of Ponds stalled for about the same time. An occasional line of vehicles was let through to ease the pressure, Stevens said.

Brian Kelso, 46, of Harmony was operating a tractor-trailer loaded with tree-length logs north on Route 27 and Jean Favreau, 25, of Quebec was driving a L-Breton lime truck south, Stevens said.

The rigs collided in a very narrow section of road in the S-turns when Kelso’s truck crossed over the center line into the southbound lane, Stevens said. It was snowing at the time and the roads were slick with the covering. The trucks careened off each other on the driver’s sides, he said.

Kelso’s truck ended up going off the road and over a 15- to 20-foot embankment, rolled over and spilled its load of logs into the woods, Stevens said.

Route 27 had to be shut down until a local logging contractor came up and off-loaded the wood onto another truck, he said.

Collins Enterprises of Wilton brought one heavy duty wrecker and two small ones to right the rig, he said. The trucks were finally cleared from the scene about 5 p.m., he said.

“Eustis Fire Department was invaluable to me,” Stevens said of its work at the scene, including traffic control. “I couldn’t have done it without them,” he said.

The crash happened about 30 minutes north of Eustis.

Kelso’s rig sustained severe damage to the trailer and about $3,000 to $4,000 to the cab, Stevens said. That truck is owned by Linkletter Trucking of Athens.

The L-Breton Transport truck sustained severe damage to the container, which was ripped open and some powdered lime spilled out, he said.

It took forever to get it cleared up, he said.

“It was one of those freak accidents,” Stevens said.