PHOTOS: Repair to damaged overpass unlikely until 2014
The damage done by a southbound truck to the Highway 3/55 overpass, north of the Diefenbaker Bridge, will not likely be repaired until 2014 and it’s also expected to be closed for at least a couple of weeks.
The overpass was damaged by what eyewitnesses described as a truck with a backhoe on it, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The impact of the southbound-travelling vehicle dented and tore chunks of metal out of eight of nine beams under the structure.
Scott Golding, the City of Prince Albert’s manager of capital projects and planning, said all eight of the beams struck have large dents and gouges in them. “Four of the eight beams have quite severe buckles in the bottom flange as well. And the outer beam on the south side, which is the most damaged, the support brace is actually torn away from the member in the lower end and is there’s cracks in the weld.”
He said with all of these issues, the city will need to bring in a bridge expert to determine if the overpass is safe for traffic.