An overpass in Maine will require some serious cash to repair after a semi truck hauling an excavator struck several of the beams.
The incident happened on Tuesday, December 7th at around 3 p.m. in Brunswick, Maine.
According to The Times Record, a semi truck hauling an excavator was traveling north along Interstate 295 when it struck the 14.5 foot overpass at Durham Road. Fortunately, no one was hurt. But several beams on the bridge took some damage. Now, Maine Department of Transportation officials say that repairs could turn out to be quite costly.
The southbound side of I-295 is reduced to one lane at the Durham Road overpass because the bridge was struck by a piece of equipment on a trailer. There are no reports of injuries. Please be careful and patient. pic.twitter.com/BQvMKnWair
— MaineDOT (@MaineDOT1) December 7, 2021
Analysis of the structural damage is expected to take about a week, but Maine Department of Transportation spokesperson Paul Merrill says that there are essentially three possibilities when it comes to repairing the bridge: cut out the damaged piece and replace it, cut out a piece of the bridge deck to replace all four of the beams in the impacted area or replace the entire bridge.
These options range in price from a minimum of six figures to a maximum of millions of dollars, and it’s not clear who would pay for it. However, it should be noted that the Maine DOT has worked with vehicle owners and their insurance companies in the past to pay for such repairs.
The truck driver responsible for the damage, 55-year-old Kevin Chubbock, was cited, and his company, Dick Holbrook & Son’s INC, has been issued a $325 ticket for an expired inspection sticker on the truck and a $326 ticket for operating a truck with a load over maximum allowable height.
The overpass has been reduced to one alternating lane for the time being.