A truck with an oversized load didn't make it under a bridge over Interstate 680 in Omaha, NE Friday morning, causing traffic delays that will continue into this week.
The truck was pulling a flatbed with a large hopper on the back.
A spokeperson for the Nebraska State Patrol told the Omaha World-Herald that the driver did have a permit for a 16-foot-tall oversized load, but the equipment on the trailer was too tall to get under the bridge. The equipment struck the bottom of the bridge, damaging several girders and forcing authorities to close the right westbound lane on West Maple, the road overhead. That lane is expected to be closed through next week, said Marvin Lech, district construction engineer. Traffic was disrupted throughout the day Friday, with motorists backed up on westbound West Maple and the I-680 off-ramp.
The accident was similar to one that occurred in March 1997, when an electrical transformer being carried on a semi hit the Military Road bridge over I-680 and buckled it. Military Road
was closed for seven months while the bridge was rebuilt. The truck driver in that case did not have a permit to drive on Omaha streets. He was ticketed by the State Patrol and fined $425. His load was 21 inches higher than the maximum allowed.
The driver involved in the latest incident was not immediately cited by the State Patrol, which was investigating the incident.