On Wednesday, a semi-truck hauling construction equipment on a flatbed trailer collided with the underside of the Whoop-Up Drive bridge, causing significant damage to both the truck’s haul and bridge itself.
On Thursday, the Lethbridge Police Service announced the driver of the truck had been charged with failing to ascertain sufficient space for movement. Police say additional charges are pending.
“The driver contacted police immediately, who attended and closed the east and west lanes of Whoop Up Drive. The bridge was reopened later that morning, with fewer lanes operational. The bridge remains open currently, with fewer lanes operational while City of Lethbridge crews continue to assess the damage and determine next steps.”
The City of Lethbridge says it’s too early to tell what kind of damage they are dealing with, or how much the repairs could cost.
“We’re just taking pictures and taking measurements and assessment in order to send that back (to engineers),” said Joel Sanchez, the director of infrastructure services at the City of Lethbridge.
While there is still a lot to learn, Sanchez says the bridge is indeed safe to drive on and crews are monitoring the condition of the road daily.
“At this point, the lanes that we have open on the bridge is safe. We have taken all the measures that we can in order to ensure that visual inspections and even some different measures are being put in place to assess daily.”
Additionally, supports were placed under the bridge as a precaution that, so far, hasn’t been necessary.
“Yesterday, when the truck was being pulled out of the site, we needed to ensure that there was some support for the structure in case, when we moved it out, anything was going to shift, which didn’t happen. (The supports are) going to remain there in place, it’s part of the precautionary measures we’re trying to do,” said Sanchez.
As a result, Botteril Bottom Road South will remain closed in the area of the bridge until further notice. City crews working at the water treatment plant will gain access via a service road, but general traffic is not currently permitted.
The big impact to road conditions lays above the bridge, however. Whoop-Up Drive is one of the busiest roads in Lethbridge, with tens of thousands of vehicles traversing it every day. Both the City of Lethbridge and Lethbridge police have indicated a traffic plan for the foreseeable future.
- The loop from northbound Scenic Drive onto Whoop-Up Drive will be reopened
- Westbound 6 Avenue onto Whoop-Up Drive will be reopened
- There will be zipper merge locations for westbound traffic, as motorists from 6 Avenue and the northbound Scenic Drive offramp merge
- That traffic will then merge with traffic from the southbound Scenic Drive off-ramp
- To increase capacity and reduce delays, we are also adjusting eastbound Whoop-Up Drive lanes by moving the inside lane closure closer to the bridge
- Both eastbound and westbound Whoop-Up Drive lanes will be fully opened after the bridge decks in each direction
As a result of these changes, the city says drivers should add extra time to their commute to help reduce frustration due to delays, select alternate routes, such as the Highway 3 bridge, reduce speed and follow all posted signage.
When it comes to where the money will come from to fix the damage, Sanchez says all options are on the table, even if it’s not quite clear yet.
“I don’t have all the answers for that at this time. Typically we will first need to get the extent of the damage to move to the next step, which could be an insurance claim, it could be any other option. It’s too early to define.”
The city says additional updates will be provided when they become available.