METRO VANCOUVER — When the southbound driver of an over-height truck hit a Delta overpass on Highway 99 Friday morning, he was undeterred and kept driving.

But about three kilometres down the road he encountered an insurmountable obstacle that put an abrupt stop to his journey — yet another overpass that hung a little too low for his tall load.

The truck trouble may sound like a ripe bit of folly, but police say it's a serious matter that will shut the southbound lanes of the busy highway into the night and may have caused structural damage to the overpass.

Police were called to Highway 99 southbound at 112 Street, where they found the truck lodged under the underpass and the driver uninjured, said Cpl. Ronda Rempel, a spokesman for the RCMP's E Division Traffic Services.

It was then that the driver himself told police he had hit the Ladner Trunk overpass as well, but decided to keep driving, said Rempel in a news release. That decision left police and crews with the task of dislodging the truck and re-opening the closed highway.

The first step was easy. Police had the driver reverse his truck and park it along the side of the road.

But Rempel said the next step could take until 10 p.m. to complete. At the end of the Friday rush hour, crews plan to bring in a crane large enough to lift the load and transfer it to an appropriate truck.

In the meantime, a structural engineer will inspect the overpass for serious damage, said Rempel.

All southbound traffic will be diverted to Ladner Trunk Road until the highway is re-opened.

Police gave the driver a seven-month suspension and deemed his truck out of service.

mrobinson@vancouversun.com