The Big Eddy Bridge is closed until further notice due to an accident on the bridge Saturday morning.
The Revelstoke RCMP reported that a man broke his arm after crashing his car on the bridge shortly after 11 a.m. on Apr. 26.
“A Toyota Tacoma allegedly lost control near the centre of the single-lane bridge when it began to fishtail,” said Staff-Sgt. Kurt Grabinsky in a news release. “The vehicle came into contact with both sides of the bridge then over turned, coming to a rest on its drivers side.”
During the crash, the drivers left arm became pinned between the car door and the bridge. Fire Rescue Services was able to get the man out of the vehicle and he was taken to Queen Victoria Hospital in an ambulance.
“The driver has been advised to be in good health besides a broken left arm and lacerations to the head,” said Grabinsky.
The condition of the bridge is another question. Grabinsky wrote the damage to the car and bridge is estimated at $100,000.
The bridge will be closed due to possible structural damage and a bridge engineer will be brought in to assess the damage and determine the safety of the bridge.
The 90-year-old bridge was supposed to have a 75-year lifespan when it was built in 1924 as the original road crossing across the Columbia River.
The load rating on the bridge was reduce to two tonnes from 26 tonnes in 2009 when major structural problems were found on the bridge.
It underwent repairs in late-2010 to extend its lifespan another 10 years, but the load rating has been limited to five tonnes since then.
