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Tractor-trailer collision shuts down Sarnia Road bridge
The bridge is owned by CP Rail, and engineers have advised the city that the structure will likely be closed for up to three weeks as a result of the damage. The City closed the bridge Wednesday (Oct. 10), and CP Rail engineers were on the scene Thursday inspecting the damage. City officials with the Roads and Transportation department said the tractor-trailer not only struck a northeast guardrail, but also collided with a northeast abutment causing it to shift considerably. David Leckie, Roads and Transportation manager for the City of London, said while fixing the damage, primarily the guardrail and a 12 ft. section of steel support frame that extends down to the ground, is not difficult, building the necessary supports to hold the bridge while the work is in progress accounts for much of the two-to-three week closure. London police said the driver has been charged with a bylaw infraction for exceeding the weight limit, and the truck was stuck on the bridge for several hours following the 12:38 a.m., collision. Estimated damage to the guardrail is pegged at $2,000. Sarnia Road is a well-used route for traffic traveling east or west in the city's northwest, and the down time could be a problematic traffic disruption. According to the City of London's interactive maps application on the city's website, approximately 7,000 vehicles used the bridge from the west and 9,000 from the east. Those traffic numbers were last updated in 2002, and its likely the traffic flow has increased since then, Leckie said, adding the city counts traffic every four years. City officials are recommending drivers use Gainsborough Road or Oxford Street West as an alternate route until the bridge re-opens. Emergency signage is posted in the immediate vicinity of the bridge on Sarnia Road, said Leckie, but signs on Wonderland Road and Hyde Park Road to alert motorists before they reach the bridge are yet to be installed. "We have to print those signs," he said. "It's not like we have a lot of bridge closures." Built in 1904, the single-lane bridge is considered a heritage structure, but there have been calls for replacement of the bridge for several years. Leckie said the damage caused by the collision is not serious enough to warrant bridge replacement, however, CP Rail did approach the city last year in regards to replacing the structure. "But that is very preliminary," Leckie said, adding "it's like the first kick at the can."
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