The latest smash-up of a highway overpass, on Hwy. 99 at 112th Street, has caused “significant” damage but there’s no timeline yet for repairs or how commuters will be affected in the long term.
The collision happened at about noon Thursday, when girders being carried by a truck southbound on Hwy. 99, crashed into the 112th Street overpass above.
That closed traffic heading southbound on Hwy. 99, a major traffic artery in the Lower Mainland, for hours.
An initial assessment by the maintenance contractor seems to show, “significant damage to the overpass,” the ministry said in an emailed statement to the Optimist.
Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said late Thursday that Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE) has suspended the safety certificate for Chohan Freight Forwarders Ltd.
"This means the company's entire fleet of 65 commercial vehicles will be unable to operate in B.C. as of 4:30 p.m., on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023,” Fleming said.
“Furthermore, the driver and the carrier responsible will face the toughest fines in the country. The outcome of the investigation could lead to further action."
The crash happened two weeks after Fleming announced tougher measures in an attempt to reduce truck-overpass collisions.
Fleming said then there have been about 30 crashes involving infrastructure in the past 24 months, but only a small percentage of drivers are the problem.
Delta Coun. Dylan Kruger though said the new rules aren't tough enough.
"The province recently increased fines to carriers for these offences from $115 to $575. This is simply not good enough. The penalty for damage like this must be so punitive that no company dares risk sending an under-qualified driver on the road again," Kruger said.
According to company spokesperson Carly Hunter, the driver involved, who she says is not a company driver, failed to wait for his permit and route directions for the oversized load.
She said the driver called the safety department saying that his load was oversized.
"Our safety manager advised the owner operator to wait while he obtained the permit. Within eight minutes, the safety manager received a call from the owner operator advising that he had crashed into the overpass," Hunter said by email.
She added that the company has been working hard with CVSE and the Ministry of Transportation over the past two years.
"Our company has an exemplary safety rating and has been in compliance with all safety regulations. At this time, we are cooperating with all investigating agencies and no further comment will be provided."
According to the ministry’s Commercial Vehicle Bridge and Overpass Crash Report, Chohan Freight Forwarders has been involved in five previous overpass crashes in the past two years, one of those at the same location, Hwy. 99 and 112th Street, on Feb. 17, 2022, with the cause listed as driver error.
However, Thursday’s crash was the first incident involving the company in 2023.
• On Dec. 10, 2021, Chohan Freight Forwarders was involved in an overpass crash on Hwy. 1, at 192nd Street, with the cause listed as driver error.
• On Feb. 12, 2022, the same company was involved in another crash on Hwy. 1, at 264th Street, with the cause listed as carrier/driver error.
• On June 1, 2022, Chohan Freight Forwarders was involved in an overpass crash on Hwy. 1, at No. 3 Road, with the cause listed as carrier/driver error.
• A week later, June 8, 2022, the company was involved in another collision on Hwy. 1, at 264th Street, with the cause listed as driver error.
