Part of a Michigan bridge will be torn down after being damaged by a semi truck hauling construction equipment.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, September 27th at approximately 4:30 p.m. in Brighton Township, Michigan.
In the dash cam video submitted to WXYZ Detriot, by another truck driver, a tractor trailer hauling construction equipment can be seen traveling east on Interstate 96. The semi truck then passes beneath the Pleasant Valley Overpass and the construction equipment grates against the ceiling of the bridge, taking down a sign and pulling the construction equipment off of the truck.
The filming trucker says that at first glance, he didn’t believe that the load was unusually large or too tall to pass beneath the 14 ft. 4 in. bridge but the Michigan Department of Transportation says that the load was approximately 4 inches too tall to pass beneath the bridge.
The accident backed up traffic for miles and the damage done to the bridge has closed all eastbound I-96 lanes at Kensington Road.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
Determination made that the Pleasant Valley Rd bridge over EB 96 will need to be demolished before EB 96 can reopen. Alt routes advised. pic.twitter.com/z17yJNsrLk
— MDOT – Ann Arbor (@MDOT_A2) September 28, 2017
Engineers have determined that the damaged half of the bridge will need to be torn down, and the Michigan Department of Transportation hopes to receive bids and begin demolition sometime on Thursday.
Although it is possible for eastbound traffic to drive on the median, Michigan DOT says motorists should consider the area completely shut down, as backups there will be major backups until the highway fully reopens at around 5 a.m. on Friday morning.
On top of the road closure, southbound US-23 ramp to eastbound I-96 and the northbound US-23 ramp to eastbound I-96 will be shut down beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday evening, reported Detroit Free Press.
Motorists are urged to find alternate routes.