Police: Overweight truck causes 113-year-old bridge to collapse
It may cost up to $1 million to replace a 113-year-old bridge in North Dakota after an overweight tractor-trailer truck tried to cross the historic structure and caused it to collapse on Monday afternoon, according to officials.
According to the Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Office, Michael Dodds was driving a the truck loaded with dry beans attempted to cross the bridge, but the bridge collapsed, and the trailer became hung up on an abutment. The bridge was rated for 14 tons gross weight, while the trailer and the load it was carrying was just over 42 tons.
The bridge, built in 1906 and listed on the National Registrar of Historic places, spans a section of the the Goose River in Northwood, N.D.
The sheriff’s office posted photos of the crash on its Facebook page.
Dodds was uninjured and issued a citation of $11,400.
The estimated replacement cost of the bridge could be between $800,000 and $1 million, according to the sheriff’s office.
Frank Carnevale is the TribLive multimedia editor. He started at the Trib in 2016 and has been part of several news organizations, including the Providence Journal and Orlando Sentinel. He can be reached at fcarnevale@triblive.com.
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