Skip to main content

Canada: dump truck slams into bridge, partially demolishing it

In Canada, the driver of a dump truck that slammed into a pedestrian bridge, partially collapsing it on to road below, may have to pay for his mistake. Highway 132 in a suburb of Montreal was closed overnight while a demolition crew hastily tore down the remaining section of walkway over the road. Police are questioning the driver of the snow-removal dump truck who reportedly was travelling down the highway with his dumper raised, hitting the bridge which was built in 1979 and had recently undergone a US$
February 12, 2015 Read time: 2 mins

In Canada, the driver of a dump truck that slammed into a pedestrian bridge, partially collapsing it on to road below, may have to pay for his mistake.

Highway 132 in a suburb of Montreal was closed overnight while a demolition crew hastily tore down the remaining section of walkway over the road.

Police are questioning the driver of the snow-removal dump truck who reportedly was travelling down the highway with his dumper raised, hitting the bridge which was built in 1979 and had recently undergone a US$2.5 million renovation.

The provincial transport minister said he will be asking questions about who pays for the damages, saying in an interview there was nothing structurally wrong with the bridge and it was not meant to withstand vehicles slamming into it.

No one was seriously injured in the incident but the truck driver and the driver of a passing car that couldn’t avoid the rubble were taken to hospital and treated for shock, according to a report by the %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Visit longueuil pedestrian overpass who will foot the bill to replace it Page false http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/longueuil-pedestrian-overpass-who-will-foot-the-bill-to-replace-it-1.2952967 false false%>.

But the Montreal incident comes only two weeks after a similar but fatal accident in another part of the province of Quebec.

He said a similar accident involving a raised payload occurred a few weeks ago at an overpass in the Gatineau area, near the Canadian capital Ottawa. The truck driver wasn't wearing his seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle. The bridge remained open but the roads were briefly closed following the incident.

Related Content

  • Outset’s Lanx Evo app turns an iPhone into a portable weigh scale display
    April 19, 2013
    Italian firm Outset has extended the functionality of its Lanx Evo on-board truck weighing system with the development of an app for the iOS platform. Called Lanx Evo, the app allows operators to use an iPhone to connect to Outset’s on-board truck scale, enabling the iOS device to show a continuous display of payload. This system is ideal, said the company, for truck drivers who load their own vehicles as the use of an iPhone gives them a portable weigh scale display that can be seen from the cab of the loa
  • Systra, Kiewit and Hatch to build third bridge in Kingston, Canada
    August 31, 2018
    Kingston, Canada, has selected Systra International Bridge Technologies, Peter Kiewit Sons and Hatch as the preferred consortium for the design and build Third Crossing project. Seven international teams answered the requests for proposals in February and 2018 with Systra, Kiewit and Hatch eventually chosen from a shortlist of three groups. The consortium will use an integrated project delivery model for the two-lane 1.2km bridge with a pedestrian and cycle path over the Cataraqui River will connect
  • Hydrema updates 912HM dump truck
    January 6, 2017
    Hydrema has revised its 912 range of articulated dump trucks, with a move from Perkins power to a Cummins Tier 4 Interim/Stage IIIB motor. The QSB4.5L engine delivers 105kW of power, up 8% on the previous model, but more importantly has 20% more torque, at 620Nm. Despite the increased output, Hydrema claims similar fuel consumption to the previous ADT line-up. The engine sits beneath a redesigned canopy that lifts clear of the chassis to provide easy access to the engine and driveline. The trucks also feat
  • Three consortia to make final bids for Gordie Howe International Bridge
    January 25, 2016
    The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority has chosen three final bidders for the six-lane Gordie Howe International Bridge to be built between the Canadian city of Windsor and Detroit in the US state of Michigan. The estimated US$2 billion toll bridge, to be built under a public private partnership, is expected to be finished by 2020.