North Vancouver Hwy 1 overpass struck by truck in hit-and-run: RCMP

Highway 1 in North Vancouver reopened to traffic early Wednesday morning, after an hours-long closure caused by a truck hitting an overpass the night before.

In an update posted around 3 a.m. Wednesday, DriveBC confirmed the highway was “clear in both directions” after the incident in the eastbound lanes.

The truck hit the Main Street overpass during the Tuesday evening commute, causing significant delays for those leaving the North Shore via the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge.

Speaking to CityNews early Wednesday, Const. Mansoor Sahak says the incident was a hit-and-run.

“During the course of the investigation, it was determined the driver of the vehicle fled the scene of the accident.

“We’re still investigating at this point, but the registered owner of the company [that] the vehicle belongs to was issued a failure to remain at the scene of an accident violation ticket,” he said.

He says that violation ticket is $368.

Sahak notes that the North Vancouver RCMP is working with partners from the Ministry of Transportation’s Commercial Vehicle Safety Inspection department to determine how the truck ended up striking the overpass.

“Structural engineers did come out. They assessed the bridge, and after assessing it, they reopened it,” he said.

It happened just before 7 p.m. Tuesday, with DriveBC telling motorists to expect “delays due to heavy congestion.”

The incident comes as several collisions involving large vehicles and highway overpasses have occurred across the Lower Mainland this year.

In July, Highway 99 in Delta was closed overnight as a truck hit the Highway 17 overpass. The closure, which lasted almost 20 hours, was done so workers could conduct what maintenance crews described as “extensive concrete removal.”

Last year, the BC Trucking Association called on the province to be more transparent about incidents in which large vehicles hit public infrastructure, and publicly share findings when it looks into these types of incidents.

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