Truck’s Tall Cargo Hits Overpass

By Staff Reports

An overpass over the Sand Springs Expressway was damaged Monday morning when it was struck by a trackhoe that was being towed on a trailer.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Kera Philippi said pieces of concrete fell from the overpass as 15 to 20 vehicles were traveling under it. No one was injured, and all of the vehicles were operable, she said.

Troopers asked the involved motorists to go to the patrol’s Troop B headquarters to have their damage inspected.

The crash happened about 7:30 a.m., Philippi said. The tractor- trailer rig hauling the trackhoe was eastbound on the highway when it struck the west side of the 65th West Avenue overpass.

Troopers determined that the trackhoe was about two feet higher than the overpass’ clearance, which was 14 feet 9 inches.

A sign with flashing lights warns drivers in advance of the low clearance. The truck driver was cited for hauling cargo that was higher than the bridge’s posted height.

The impact lowered the overpass’ clearance by three inches, and Department of Transportation workers will post a sign showing that the clearance is now 14 feet 6 inches, ODOT spokesman Cole Perryman said.

The impact caused structural damage to a beam and the bridge deck, Perryman said.

Two outside lanes of the expressway under the overpass were closed so that engineers could inspect the overpass and determine the extent of the damage.