UPDATE: 1:30 p.m.
Police say Highway 1 westbound at the No. 3 Road overpass has reopened.
UPDATE: 1 p.m.
Crews are still working on clearing debris off Highway 1 westbound, hours after a driver collided into an overpass.
DriveBC sent out a reminder to the public about the closure and to expect major delays.
"Progress is being made," says Abbotsford police in a tweet. "As soon as it's clear, we will let everyone know."
ORIGINAL: 10:30 a.m.
A major highway connecting the Lower Mainland has snarled after a truck driver collided with an overpass on Monday morning.
Sgt. Paul Walker with the Abbotsford Police Department says the collision was a ‘freak accident’ caused by a blown-out tire.
“Which is very rare to occur in traffic like this,” he tells Glacier Media.
The driver of a dump truck was travelling eastbound towing a trailer fully loaded with material when the driver’s front driver side tire blew out at about 5:30 a.m.
“This resulted in him losing control of the dump truck into the centre median of the highway and proceeding through the median striking the support column for the highway,” says Walker, adding the truck burst into flames.
Police say the driver was able to get out of the vehicle.
“He was a sole occupant who was shook up, obviously. This is something that could have been catastrophic,” says Walker.
The driver walked away with a few scratches. No one else was injured.
“This is one of these accidents that the driver was doing everything right,” says Walker.
The collision comes on the heels of multiple other crashes involving trucks and overpasses, but Walker says this one is different.
“We have seen a lot of these bridge being struck... in the Lower Mainland. This was different than what we normally would see,” he says.
A structural assessment has been completed and the bridge is structurally sound.
Highway 1 westbound is expected to be reopened shortly after the debris is cleared.
DriveBC says it will provide updates throughout the day. Drivers should expect delays.
