Overpass crash closes Highway 99 southbound in Delta

Skilled Truckers Canada/Facebook

DriveBC is alerting the public about a vehicle incident at a Highway 99 overpass in Delta that’s snarling traffic through the area.

Photos from the scene show the cab of a transport truck near the 112th Street overpass surrounded by emergency vehicles. A huge piece of metal appears wedged between the highway and the bridge, tearing up some of the asphalt.

Skilled Truckers Canada/Facebook

Skilled Truckers Canada/Facebook

Another overpass crash today wedged this object between Highway 99 and the 112th St overpass in Delta. This video was sent in by a @DailyHiveVan reader pic.twitter.com/Mz9g8YV90e

— Megan Devlin (@MegDevlinn) December 28, 2023

Video from the highway also shows a car with some damage pulled over at the side of the road.

#DriveBC is alerting the public about a vehicle incident on Highway 99 in #Delta that is affecting traffic through the area.

Read more 👉 https://t.co/gvopids7SN pic.twitter.com/hbaTnQpDZI

— Daily Hive Vancouver (@DailyHiveVan) December 28, 2023

The southbound lanes of Highway 99 are currently closed, and the overpass is shut too.

DriveBC doesn’t have an estimated time of reopening yet, though it says crews are on scene and assessing damage.

⛔️#BCHwy99 A vehicle incident at the 112th St overpass in #DeltaBC has the highway CLOSED to all southbound traffic. Traffic on the overpass is also blocked in both directions. Crews on scene. Assessment in progress. Use an alternate route.

ℹ️More info:https://t.co/FqmLCHTDtk pic.twitter.com/AYOvLGbHsg

— DriveBC (@DriveBC) December 28, 2023

Kris Clark with the BC RCMP couldn’t share many details, but confirmed police are investigating.

“The investigation is in the early stages and efforts are underway to reroute traffic due to closures caused by the crash,” he said.

Mainroad Lower Mainland Contracting recommends drivers use Highway 10 or Highway 17 as alternate routes to travel south from Surrey into Delta.

OVERPASS UPDATE

Northbound #BCHwy99 north of #BCHwy91 fast lane closed.

Southbound Hwy 99 closed at #BCHwy10.

Use Hwy 10 or #BCHwy17 to travel south from #DeltaBC to #SurreyBC.

Obey roadside workers and traffic signs. @DriveBC @TranBC_LMD pic.twitter.com/2mt66xPtMl

— Mainroad Lower Mainland Contracting (@MainroadLM) December 28, 2023

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The incident comes two weeks after BC officials announced tougher penalties for truck companies whose vehicles slam into overpasses, after a rash of truck-into-overpass collisions in the region.

“There simply is no excuse for a truck to crash into a bridge or an overpass,” Transport Minister Rob Fleming said during a December 14 news conference. “If it happens, there will be more severe consequences.”

The rules take effect next June. At that time, if a truck crashes into an overpass, its company’s entire fleet will be grounded while a safety investigation takes place. Fines for over-height vehicles and over-height loads will also increase to just under $600.

News of Thursday’s collision was quickly shared on social media, with one user on Reddit joking it’s time to reset the meter for days without truck-into-overpass crashes in the Lower Mainland.

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Delta residents also expressed frustration that another infrastructure crash was impacting their community.

NOT AGAIN! Delta is still dealing with the last hit! 😡

— Laura H (@Cat4714) December 28, 2023

Enough already!!! It’s time for serious action, serious enough to actually stop the carelessness that’s the root cause of all these trucks hitting overpasses.

— DianneInBC (@DianneC_BC) December 28, 2023

This is absolutely outrageous. It’s either improper screening during the hiring process or being negligent when checking the load size prior to departure. How many times is this going to happen?

— Arjun (@bainzzyy) December 28, 2023