Elevated highway closed in New Taipei due to heavy steel beam incident

Taipei, Aug. 20 (CNA) A massive steel beam fell off a flatbed trailer on an elevated section of Provincial Highway 1 in New Taipei's Sanchong District on Tuesday morning, causing the major road from Sanchong to Taipei to be closed, according to local police.

Sanchong police said the accident occurred at 5:50 a.m. when the steel beam fell from the trailer driven by a 34-year-old man surnamed Hung (洪) as the vehicle was moving on the Zhongan Street section of the elevated highway.

The fallen beam partially broke through the guardrail and damaged parts of the highway. Although the heavy steel beam did not fall down to the ground from the elevated highway, debris nonetheless hit two vehicles that were parked below, according to the police.

No one was injured in the incident, the police said.

Also read: Incident-hit elevated highway reopened to traffic

They added that the highway from Sanchong to Taipei, including Zhongxiao Bridge, is currently closed. Police advised drivers to take alternative routes since traffic on the highway became heavily congested due to the morning rush hour surge.

Vehicles heading towards Taipei are advised to exit at the Zhonghua Road off-ramp and use ground-level roads to reroute to Zhongxing Bridge or Taipei Bridge, according to the New Taipei Transportation Department.

Meanwhile, the New Taipei Fire Department also said on its Facebook page that police were directing traffic on-site, noting that vehicles heading towards Taipei were being guided to exit at the Zhonghua Road off-ramp and use ground-level roads to reach their destinations.

Traffic heading towards Wugu was not affected, the department said. Drivers traveling from Xinzhuang to Taipei were advised to reroute via Chongxin Bridge towards Zhongxing Bridge to enter Taipei.

According to Sanchong police, the accident caused damage stretching around 15 meters along the length of the road, and the driver was not under the influence of alcohol when driving.

An investigation into the cause of the incident is underway.