(The Gordon Avenue Bridge after being hit by an excavator May 21, 2021. Chopper 5)
LAYTON – Engineers with UDOT may have to make repairs on a brand new bridge after a crash involving a backhoe shut down Highway 89 in Layton Friday morning.
The crash happened on the northbound lanes of Highway 89 in Layton. The excavator backhoe was on the back of a flatbed truck, being transported to a construction site near the Gordon Avenue bridge, which is still under construction.
“Unfortunately, the arms of the excavator wasn’t lowered,” says UDOT Spokesman John Gleason.
(This picture from Chopper 5 shows the top portion of excavator after it was cut off the lower tracks.)
The excavator slammed into the girder, taking a sizeable portion of concrete with it. The excavator, however, was practically cut in half.
Gleason says, “Part of the excavator came off, and the highway was closed for about 20 minutes while we were able to get the excavator off to the side.”
Due to the crash, the top portion of the backhoe was completely ripped off its bottom after it hit the bridge. The arm and the bucket were also separated. Gleason says they’re glad no one was injured in the crash.
Bridge inspectors determined the structure was safe enough to let traffic move under it. However, they’ll need to conduct a longer inspection to see if any major repairs are necessary. If they are, that could mean closures or lane restrictions.
Gleason says, “They’ll look at what needs to happen with the final repairs and what that means in terms of lane closures or any traffic impacts going forward.”
Other Reading:
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(In the upper left of the picture, you can see the bottom tracks of the excavator after the operator portion came off. Courtesy: Chopper 5)
