Freeway Closed for Hours When Cargo Hits Overpass

Cargo on a big-rig truck traveling west on the Ventura Freeway clipped a bridge overpass Thursday morning, raining concrete chunks onto the freeway and closing two lanes for more than three hours, authorities said.

No one was injured in the accident that occurred about 7:30 a.m. under the Reyes Adobe Road overpass in Agoura Hills, backing up traffic for miles.

The truck was impounded for possibly violating the terms of a Caltrans-issued permit or for not having a permit at all, CHP officials said.

The driver of the Jones-Stephens Heavy Haul Co. truck--which was lugging a D-10 Caterpillar bulldozer--traveled under the 15 1/2-foot bridge with a load “substantially” taller than that, Sgt. Tony D’Ambrosio said.

“The cargo was six to eight inches higher than the underside of the overpass,” D’Ambrosio said. “That’s a pretty substantial difference.”

The crash of the bulldozer into the overpass broke part of a cement girder and damaged the bulldozer’s roll bar and cab, he said.

Caltrans crews had to knock out material that was left hanging from the overpass, an agency official said.

Although a relatively minor accident--neither the bridge nor the cargo was seriously damaged--the incident becomes the latest mishap in which a truck hit a bridge overpass.

Most result in traffic congestion or property damage, but some have yielded more serious consequences.

A motorist was killed on the Riverside Freeway in Anaheim in July when the load on a truck was knocked over by a bridge overpass and fell on the motorist’s vehicle. That bridge was two inches lower than the cargo.

A truck carrying an oversized load must apply for a travel permit with Caltrans. The state agency then approves a route for the truck.

Caltrans and CHP officials are investigating whether the truck involved in Thursday’s accident had such a travel permit and, if so, if the size of the cargo violated the terms of the agreement, a Caltrans spokesman said.