TRUCK HITS TWO
OVERPASSES ON HIGHWAY 99 IN DELTA; TRAFFIC DIVERTED. DRIVER HIT THE LADNER TRUNK OVERPASS AS WELL,
BUT DECIDED TO KEEP DRIVING; THEN HE HIT THE SECOND OVERPASS. TAKES THE DRIVER OF THE CENTURY AWARD.
METRO VANCOUVER — When the southbound driver of an
over-height truck hit a Delta overpass on Highway 99 Friday morning, he was
undeterred and kept driving.
But about three kilometres down the road he encountered
an insurmountable obstacle that put an abrupt stop to his journey — yet another
overpass that hung a little too low for his tall load.
The truck trouble may sound like a ripe bit of folly,
but police say it's a serious matter that will shut the southbound lanes of the
busy highway into the night and may have caused structural damage to the
overpass.
Police were called to Highway 99 southbound at 112
Street, where they found the truck lodged under the underpass and the driver
uninjured, said Cpl. Ronda Rempel, a spokesman for the RCMP's E Division
Traffic Services.
It was then that the driver himself told police he had
hit the Ladner Trunk overpass as well, but decided to keep driving, said Rempel
in a news release. That decision left police and crews with the task of
dislodging the truck and re-opening the closed highway.
The first step was easy. Police had the driver reverse
his truck and park it along the side of the road.
But Rempel said the next step could take until 10 p.m.
to complete. At the end of the Friday rush hour, crews plan to bring in a crane
large enough to lift the load and transfer it to an appropriate truck.
In the meantime, a structural engineer will inspect the
overpass for serious damage, said Rempel.
All southbound traffic will be diverted to Ladner Trunk
Road until the highway is re-opened.
Police gave the driver a seven-month suspension and
deemed his truck out of service.