7 December 2007
Thamesford Bridge Damaged
CP Rail workers watch a train roll across a bridge in
Thamesford that was damaged when
hit by a truck Thursday afternoon.
Thamesford Ontario - Two large concrete barriers came
crashing down on Oxford Road 119 Thursday after a lift truck struck a rail bridge in Thamesford.
The concrete supports on each side of the bridge collapsed onto the road around 1:30 p.m., but police said the tracks were unaffected.
"The tracks appear to be OK," Oxford OPP Const. Dennis Harwood said.
He added a train did cross the tracks immediately after the concrete barriers came down.
Harwood said the barriers, estimated to be 10 tones each, act as guardrails to protect the tracks. "They did exactly what they are
supposed to do," he said.
The truck, owned by BFI Canada, was southbound when it hit the bridge with its hydraulic lift, which police say was in an upright
position.
Oxford EMS transported the driver to Ingersoll hospital with minor injuries, operations manager Joe Pember said. He was "extremely
lucky," Harwood said. "We could have had a fatality here if it had dropped with a vehicle beneath."
Engineers with the Canadian Pacific Railway have deemed the rail safe and trains will continue to cross the bridge at a reduced speed.
The bridge, built in 1909, is on the main line for CP.
Katie Langford was in her home across from the bridge on Allen Street when she heard the crash. "We heard a big rumble," she
said, adding it rattled the whole house. Her daughter was at the nearby Thamesford Public School on the corner of Allen and McCarty
streets and also heard the concrete strike the roadway. "Everyone went running outside to see what happened," said Grade 5
student Emma Langford. "Then we heard the train whistle," Katie Langford said. "It was pretty freaky because if the
train derailed it would be right in our backyard."
Thamesford firefighters quickly moved people away from the bridge as a precaution. School buses and pedestrians were also rerouted
around the scene. Yellow police tape was strung across the road in both directions as the OPP investigated the collision.
About an hour later another train, hauling vehicles, was slowly approaching the bridge. The conductor, evidently shocked by the damage,
yelled "holy f--k" as he looked over the bridge.
Heavy equipment was brought in to haul the concrete chunks away before the road could be reopened.
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