Hood River Bridge closed indefinitely after truck hauling excavator causes ‘severe’ damage

An Oregon bridge is closed until further notice following a Thursday commercial vehicle bridge strike.

The bridge strike occurred shortly after 10 a.m. on June 27 on the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge located in Hood River, Oregon.

The #HoodRiverBridge is closed due to a crash Thursday afternoon. Engineers from @PortofHoodRiver, owners of the 100-year-old bridge, are onsite assessing whether there's structural damage to the bridge and its lift span. The bridge remains closed until further notice. pic.twitter.com/2QchHIqi2G

— OregonDOT (@OregonDOT) June 28, 2024

Port of Hood River officials say that a semi truck with an attached flatbed trailer was hauling an excavator across the bridge when the infrastructure strike occurred.

“…the arm had not been properly lowered on that trailer. And so, the elbow basically cut through portions of six different lateral braces above the traveling,” Kevin Greenwood with the Port of Hood River told KGW.

No one was injured.

The Port of Hood River called the damage to the bridge “severe.”

“For safety reasons and to allow engineers to thoroughly assess the damage, the bridge will be closed until further notice. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding as we prioritize safety and work towards a resolution,” the Port of Hood River said.

For drivers looking for a way around the closure, the Oregon Department of Transportation says that the nearest crossings across the Columbia River are the Dalles Bridge to the east, and the Bridge of the Gods in Cascade Locks to the west.