Sparks flew as a truck hauling an overheight load scraped the ceiling of the Massey Tunnel Wednesday night.
Delta resident Hannah Greenway was driving home, when her dashcam captured a flatbed truck making contact with the tunnel multiple times.
“I hit my brakes too and waited to see what was happening. He kind of looked stuck, and then a few cars behind me started to go around the truck, so I started to go around,” says Greenway.
The collision happened just after 8 p.m. in the southbound lane.
After, there were traffic reports of a stalled semi on the north end of the tunnel. It didn’t cause major delays and was cleared shortly after.
Crews have also just started repairs to the Highway 17-A overpass which was struck by an overheight truck back in July 2023.
Speaking to Global News, Delta City Councillor Dylan Kruger says he’s dumbfounded.
“It’s like okay its another week, which overpass are we hitting this week? Two days after we started repairs on 17-A and just a week after the overpass on 112th Street was hit, to see this, and not just an overpass but a critical, critical crossing of the George Massey Tunnel. It’s just bordering on the comical now. You couldn’t write it better than this.”
Just less than two weeks ago, a driver with Chohan Freight Forwarders struck the 112th Street overpass on Highway 99, blocking southbound lanes for the rest of the day.
Hannah Greenway has informed Richmond RCMP about the incident.
The B.C. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Rob Fleming was unavailable for an interview, Thursday.
He did respond with a statement through email.
“There is no excuse for this. It has never been easier to follow a route to guide the load to travel safely through our highway system and avoid the potential for impact with infrastructure,” Fleming told Global News.
“The Ministry’s Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement branch is working to determine the company and driver involved and will conduct a thorough investigation. RCMP have also been notified.”
The minister went on to say there was no “significant damage” that occurred.”
“We have brought in new, tough enforcement measures to deter these collisions, including the highest fines in Canada and lengthy suspensions of entire fleets,” Fleming said.
“The vast majority of truckers operate safe and responsibly, but clearly the message is not yet getting through to a select few drivers and companies.”
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