‘There is no excuse’: Frustration mounts due to overpass strikes in B.C.

Frustration is mounting about commercial trucking operations in B.C. after a driver scraped the top of the Massey Tunnel Wednesday night.

A truck driver hit the roof of the tunnel around 8:40 p.m. Wednesday.

The province said there is no significant damage to the tunnel.

Investigators are trying to identify the company and driver of the truck.

2:05 Suspended B.C. trucking company denies suggestions its trucks are still on the road

This latest event is in addition to more than 30 commercial vehicle overpass strikes in the last two years.

Federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez said he has received a letter from his B.C. counterpart, Transportation Minister Rob Fleming, and is committed to improving safety.

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“Safety is our top priority at Transport Canada,” Rodriguez said.

“We’re working with the B.C. government; actually, we have a great relationship with them,. We’ll work with the B.C. government and other provinces and this is a topic we’ll raise also when we meet next month, all the ministers of transport for Canada.”

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In a statement to Global News, Fleming said this latest incident at the Massey Tunnel is frustrating.
“There is no excuse for this,” he said.

“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 said the B.C. government has already brought in tough enforcement measures, including the highest fines in Canada and a lengthy suspension of entire fleets.

The Ministry of Transportation grounded Chohan Freight Forwarders’ fleet in December after one of the company’s trucks was involved in a sixth overpass strike in two years.

Fleming said the government will continue to look at new measures and potentially even higher fines to stop these incidents from happening.