AUBURN – A 15-ton excavator being towed on the Turnpike on Friday morning crashed into a bridge, pitched off the back of its flatbed trailer and flipped upside down on the highway. No one was injured, but the accident destroyed some of the underside supports of the Hackett Road bridge.
The bridge is now closed indefinitely for repairs.
“It was the worst bridge strike I’ve ever seen,” state Trooper Tim Marks said, estimating the damage at $300,000 to $400,000.
Richard L’Heureux, 51, of Lewiston was driving a dump truck with a flatbed trailer hitched to the back, towing the excavator to a job site for R.L. Gustus and Son, an excavation company in Sabattus. The arm of the digging machine was raised too high and it hit the bridge as L’Heureux drove under, state police said. The crash ripped the machine from the trailer, sending it crashing to the ground and flipping it upside down in the middle of the right lane.
“The bridge was pulverized underneath,” said Wes Jackson, maintenance director for the Maine Turnpike Authority.
Debris flew at one car behind L’Heureux, causing slight damage, police said. Another car avoided the debris because the driver slowed down moments before the machine hit the bridge.
“They thought it (the arm) was too high and they backed away. They were correct,” said Marks.
Bridges stand at various heights on the Turnpike, but all are at least 13 feet of clearance. Trucks are required to be shorter than that, Marks said.
The excavator’s arm did not strike anything before the Hackett Road bridge because the other bridges it passed under were higher.
The impact destroyed two underside bridge beams and tore a third. It also damaged the highway pavement.
The incident, which initially shut down the northbound Turnpike lanes entirely, tied up traffic for hours as drivers were funneled along one lane under the bridge.
The excavator is likely totaled, police said. Splintered and dented, the flatbed trailer was destroyed, said Linda Gustus, wife of the excavation company’s owner.
It took workers about two hours to clear the site and load the massive excavator onto a tow truck. They had to use a heavy loader with a bucket to flip the machine right side up.
Engineers will inspect the Hackett Road bridge and workers will reinforce it. It could take months before the bridge is fully repaired, Jackson said.
Although no one was injured in the accident, L’Heureux, the driver, was taken to the hospital with stomach pains. Gustus said he was fine.
Police did not believe drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash, but Gustus said L’Heureux was tested for substances after the accident.
“There won’t be an issue with that. He’s a good driver, a good worker,” she said.
Such bridge strikes happen about once a year or so, Jackson said.
It has never happened to R.L. Gustus and Son, Gustus said.
“The equipment can be replaced. The bridge can be repaired. I’m just extremely happy no one was hurt,” she said.
The excavation company received a ticket for exceeding the bridge clearance.
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