A trucking company and a driver have each been issued commercial traffic tickets after a semi hauling a load that was too tall slammed into a freeway overpass in east Edmonton, damaging the bridge.
The collision on the Sherwood Park Freeway happened at the 34 Street overpass, near the border between Edmonton and Sherwood Park, late Monday night.
A semi-truck carrying a heavy load of logging equipment, including an excavator, appeared to hit every girder under the bridge deck, where cracks could be seen and chunks of concrete missing.
The truck hauling the trailer had a LARR Management Corporation logo on the side.
The crash resulted in road closures on Tuesday as engineers inspected the damage and whether it affected the structural integrity of the overpass.
While the freeway has since reopened, north and southbound traffic on 34 Street is limited to a single lane in both directions with no dedicated turning lane, and the speed limit is reduced.
On Thursday, Strathcona County RCMP said it issued five tickets requiring a court appearance to the driver under the Commercial Vehicle Safety Regulation. The name of the driver was not released by police.
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RCMP said the Edmonton Police Service commercial vehicle investigation unit also issued 13 tickets totaling nearly $25,000 to the driver under the Commercial Vehicle Safety Regulation and the Operator Licensing and Vehicle Control Regulation.
Police said the company that owns the vehicle was issued nine tickets totaling more than $13,000.
A further ticket was issued to the driver for causing damage to the roadway. Police said this type of ticket includes a mandatory court summons and a possible fine that is equivalent to the repair costs for the damaged infrastructure.
It is not the first time something like this has happened in Edmonton in recent years. In June 2023, a semi hauling an excavator slammed into the underside of the Whitemud Drive overpass at Anthony Henday Drive in east Edmonton.
The excavator hit several girders, breaking away concrete and exposing rebar. Traffic at the site has been impacted ever since, due to lane closures along both Whitemud Drive eastbound over the Henday into Strathcona County and along the offramp.
That damage is still being fixed.
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