BC marks first overpass collision of 2024 and it comes less than a week after the last crash
In what is starting to feel like an article from The Onion, we have to report yet another overpass-related incident in BC, but thankfully, this one didn’t lead to catastrophic damages.
The BC Ministry of Transportation confirmed the latest was an overheight load on Highway 1 in Abbotsford Tuesday that scrapped the overpass at No. 3 Road.
⚠️ #BCHwy1 – Eastbound vehicle incident before No. 3 Rd has the left lane blocked. Pass with caution and expect delays. #Abbotsford
— DriveBC (@DriveBC) January 2, 2024
“There was no damage to the No. 3 Road crossing in Chilliwack resulting from this morning’s brush by a high commercial load. The ministry’s Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement branch (CVSE) is investigating,” the Ministry of Transportation told Daily Hive Tuesday afternoon.
Luckily, the route remains open and appears to be fairly light traffic as of lunchtime.
It’s the first overpass to be struck in 2024 but is among the more than two dozen other incidents of this nature in recent years.
Skilled Truckers Canada/Facebook
But that wasn’t the case last week when another overpass was struck in Metro Vancouver.
Highway 99 southbound was backed up during the rush hour commute on December 28 after a semi-truck hit the 112th Street overpass in Delta.
As a result, trucking company Chohan Freight Forwarders Ltd. was suspended, putting a pause on its 65-strong fleet that operates out of the Surrey/Langley area.
“This suspension is a result of the company’s unwillingness or inability to operate safely within the province following its sixth infrastructure crash in two years,” Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said in a statement last week.
Daily Hive has reached out to the company for a statement on what fate awaits the employees who have now been unable to work during the suspension.
The province has promised heftier fines to not only this company but any operator who is at fault for a collision. The province says, “so highway traffic keeps moving safely and reliably for travellers and commercial vehicles, and people can count on their commute.”
Drivers operating a vehicle with a height over 4.15 m without a permit could face a $575 ticket, effective as of mid-December. That’s a jump from the previous fine of $115.
As of June 2024, an in-cab warning device mandate for certain commercial vehicles with dump boxes will also be in place, and violators could be handed a nearly $600 fine.
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