Overpass into Portage la Prairie closed to traffic, future unknown

One of the main routes in and out of Portage la Prairie is shut down after a truck collided with an overpass.

The Highway 1A bypass on the west side of the city was hit by a truck hauling an over-sized container Friday evening. The driver had a permit for the load but wasn’t allowed to travel on Highway 1.

The damage was so extensive, demolition crews were called in over the weekend.

“One of the beams had to be removed and the deck over that beam also had to be removed,” Ruth Eden, with Manitoba Infrastructure, said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "One of the beams had to be removed and the deck over that beam also had to be removed," Ruth Eden, with Manitoba Infrastructure, said.

The overpass has been shut down to all traffic to let crews evaluate the damage and safety of the structure.

“Unfortunately this has happened before,” Eden said. “Anyone who travels that area a lot knows we have already removed one of the girders and a portion of the deck previously.”

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The overpass originally had two lanes going into Portage and one lane leaving. A few years ago a collision permanently closed one lane going into town. This latest crash has closed the only other lane inbound.

“We are assessing right now if we can put one lane of traffic instead of the two that were there before,” Eden said. “We are planning on turning the lane that used to head out of Portage now into the lane going into Portage. What we find more people want to go in to Portage if they are heading eastbound.”

She said the infrastructure department is also looking at if the median could be removed to allow traffic in both directions but that won’t be soon.

“That would be a temporary fix and we now need to start looking at long term options,” Eden said. “Does it make sense now to replace it with a new bridge… what we are doing right now is looking at all options we have with that structure”

The driver involved in the collision on Friday has been charged by Manitoba Infrastructure. The province is also going after his company to pay for the damage and demolition costs. It is expect to be at least $20,000 for the demolition alone.

The province is looking at adding flashing warning lights near the overpass to warn drivers.