Sanchong overpass down to 1 lane after building girder falls off semitruck

Taipei, Aug. 21 (CNA) Traffic on a Taipei-bound section of Provincial Highway No. 1 in New Taipei's Sanchong District damaged after a building girder fell off a semitruck Tuesday is still restricted to a single lane, city officials said Wednesday.

While traffic flow on the Zhongxiao Bridge approach road appears to have returned to normal, the city government said drivers from Xinzhuang District and Taoyuan should try alternative routes, such as Zhongxing Bridge and Taipei Bridge.

In addition to closing one of the overpass's two lanes, vehicles weighing 20 metric tons will be prohibited from traveling on the damaged section of Provincial Highway No. 1 until repairs are complete, city officials said.

The elevated section of Provincial Highway No. 1 from Sanchong to Taipei was damaged after a large steel beam tipped off of a flatbed trailer driven by a 34-year-old man surnamed Hung (洪) as the vehicle was traveling on the highway overpass above Zhongan Street, Sanchong police said.

The steel girder broke through the guardrail and damaged parts of the highway when it fell.

Although it did not hit the ground below the overpass, debris hit two vehicles that were parked below but no one was injured in the incident, police said.

The accident forced the closure of the overpass heading toward Zhongxiao Bridge, causing severe morning rush hour congestion.

One of the two lanes affected reopened for traffic at about 11 a.m. on Tuesday after obstacles were removed, the police said.

On Wednesday, New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) told media reporters that he visited the accident scene to observe the road traffic conditions from 7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m., and found that there was a little traffic congestion during the rush hour but the traffic flow was normal.

He also said that with the reopening of only one lane, the government has stepped up publicity advising commuters to take alternative routes and deployed 178 police officers to help disperse traffic on ground-level roads and at an off-ramp.

According to the city government, the repair work would take about two months to complete.

Lin Bi-fen (林碧芬), a traffic safety division head with the New Taipei Transportation Department, said that traffic congestion on the highway overpass was at its peak from 7 a.m - 8 a.m. Wednesday, with traffic queuing for about 1.5 kilometers. It was relieved in about an hour.

According to prosecutors, the truck's driver has been prohibited from changing his residence after being questioned late Tuesday.

A breathalyzer test on Hung came back negative and he said he was transporting the steel girder from Taoyuan to a construction site in Taipei, and he did not know why the girder fell off, police said earlier Tuesday.