The damaged Canadian Pacific overpass structure at Lloydminster - 11 Oct 2011 Photographer unknown.

20 October 2011

Broken CPR Overpass Salvageable

Lloydminster Alberta - The Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. overpass that was knocked out of place by an oversize load was deemed reusable by a structural engineer despite the high-speed accident last Tuesday.
 
CPR has taken the span of the overpass to Edmonton for repairs, and once rehabilitated, it will be put back in place, said spokesman Mike Lovecchio on Monday.
 
When the span is put back into place, the highway will have to be closed again to allow work crews enough space to operate.
 
As of yet, there is no set date for the reinstallation, nor would CPR give an estimation.
 
In order to avoid accidents like this in the future, Lovecchio stressed the importance of situational awareness for drivers, particularly those with higher loads.
 
"We're well aware that while the highway was closed there was some local inconvenience," said Lovecchio.
 
"This inconvenience, it's an inconvenience to the community, it's an inconvenience to us, could have been easily prevented if that truck driver had been aware of the size of his load and had detoured around the bridge as opposed to trying to go under it."
 
Lovecchio would not speculate on the cost of the damage because of the ongoing investigation to determine the driver's liability in the accident.
 
"That probably is not something that will be made public in the short term," he said.
 
"There's insurance companies involved. There's a police investigation that is incomplete at this point. My understanding is that the RCMP still have the file open. A lot of moving parts at this point and I wouldn't want to prejudice any of that by assigning a dollar value."
 
Staff Sgt. Dave Kalist of the Lloydminster RCMP said the investigation is being handled by the RCMP's traffic unit. "They're going to look at the applicable charges that can be laid in this case," he said. "I'm quite certain that they will be in relation to the load that he was carrying and it being over height or over dimension, because obviously he hit the bridge and that's not good." Kalist went on to say that he expects the investigation to conclude sometime this week.
 
Thomas Miller.