Bridge hit by buncher

Ken Johnston

Last Monday a truck carrying a Feller-buncher struck the Canadian side of the International Bridge at Rainy River.
The girder on that end of the bridge was sheared in two, right at the center height warning sign.
The truck was only lodged in the bridge for a few minutes. The driver backed out and pulled over to the side. Authorities shutdown the bridge to truck traffic for a few hours to allow an engineer to review the situation and give the okay to reopen it to trucks. That happened that evening.
The Ministry of Transportation removed the damaged steel on Friday. Full repairs of the bridge will take place this spring.
Peter Makula, Manager of Engineering for MTO said, “The bridge has been inspected since the collision and continues to be safe and open to all legal Highway Traffic Act loads.”
No charges have been laid at this time. However, Caroline Spencer of the Ontario Provincial Police said, “The OPP/MTO is continuing the investigation.”