The Sande Overpass is now open after a logging truck tipped over on its side, spilling its cargo across the road.
Terrace RCMP were called to the scene around 7:50 a.m. on April 1.
The truck had been turning right onto the overpass from Hwy 16 eastbound when it turned over on the driver’s side. There are no injuries and no other vehicles were damaged. The driver was taken to hospital as a precaution.
The overpass was closed to pedestrians and drivers for safety reasons, due to the concerns the logs could roll.
“The logs were quite large and were collected by an independent logging company,” said Terrace RCMP in a press release.
Fire crews, WorkSafe BC and Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement were on scene. The incident is under investigation.
OPEN – #BCHwy16 after earlier vehicle incident #TerraceBC between Eby St & Keith Ave.
— Drive BC (@DriveBC) April 1, 2019
This isn’t the first time logging trucks have had issues turning onto the sharply-angled Sande Overpass.
In February, a detached logging trailer caused traffic delays at the bridge, blocking the left turning lane going west on Hwy 16 for three hours.
READ MORE: Log trailer breaks off truck on Terrace overpass
In one case, an accident similar to this most recent one was fatal. In 1986, a young Terrace woman was killed while walking across the overpass when a loaded logging truck overturned at the south end of the bridge. She died instantly.
The RCMP Inspector at the time said the narrow lanes and acute turns on both access routes to the Sand Overpass require semi-trailer trucks to infringe on adjacent traffic lanes, and in the case of logging trucks, the rear load overhang generally swings into another lane.
“The traffic flow and public safety would be greatly enhanced should the commercial traffic be channelled to an alternate route,” read the Inspector’s report to city council.
The province built a second lane for vehicles turning east from the overpass to Keith Ave. in 2015, along with new traffic signals at the southern end. The bridge was resurfaced the following year.
Those projects followed years of lobbying to the province by city council and others for a second overpass, with local officials saying the current overpass traffic pattern leads to too much congestion.
READ MORE: Sande Overpass work begins in Terrace, B.C.
—with files from Josh Massey
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