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

  • Artists help IPAF tell INTERMAT 2012 visitors to ‘spread the load’
    February 2, 2012
    The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) has hit upon a colourful way of telling show visitors about its key safety message.
  • Major Wire to showcase Flex-Mat 3 screen technology
    January 6, 2017
    Major Wire Industries’ innovative Flex-Mat 3 vibrating wire technology for screening will be on show. The Montreal, Canada-based company, sharing its stand with Haver & Boecker, its European sales representative, offers its Flex-Mat 3 high-performance, self-cleaning screen media, which it claims helps screening operations increase screen capacity and material throughput while reducing downtime. Available for tensioned or modular screen decks, Flex-Mat 3 panels (now in its third generation since its introduc
  • Case’s pink backhoe loader raises breast cancer awareness
    April 11, 2013
    Scale models of a pink Case backhoe loader have gone on sale at Case’s online shop: www.caseceshop.com. The models are scale replicas of a full-size Case 580 machine that was painted pink at the Case Burlington plant in Iowa, USA to raise awareness about cancer. The idea came from Marvin Linder, a design engineer at the plant, after his wife Leslie died of breast cancer. “We have had many employees and family members affected by cancer over the past few years,” said Linder. “I wanted to make this a big canc
  • Atlas develops two new truck loading cranes
    January 6, 2017
    German firm Atlas has developed two new high performance truck loading cranes, the 186.3VB and the 129.3V. The cranes have a lower deadweight than previous models in this class and the 186.3VB model benefits from a centrally placed crane column that provides a large range of movement as well as high stability to both sides. The 186.3VB crane has extension cylinders fixed at the tip of the jib, a standard recycling valve and heavy duty supports. The short set-up time achieved due to the fast extension speed