Instead, crews will secure a tarp around the damaged section of the overpass to catch pieces of debris that could fall onto the freeway.

The second from the left lane reopened at about 2:30 p.m. on Friday. Caltrans officials originally thought the HOV lane would remain closed indefinitely after discovering a steel girder was punctured and would need replacing. Further evaluation, however, revealed the damage was not extensive enough for a long-term closure of the freeway lane, Haus said.

UPDATE, 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 3: Caltrans spokesman Robert Haus said all lanes of U.S. Highway 101 should reopen by 7 p.m. Friday, but on the Embarcadero Road overpass, the righthand, westbound lane will remain closed indefinitely following the dump truck crash into the overpass on Thursday night.

A large crack in the Embarcadero Road overpass at U.S. Highway 101 was created after a dump truck struck the structure. Photo by Sue Dremann.

Two lanes are blocked on U.S. Highway 101 at Embarcadero Road. Caltrans will determine if a 27-foot crack from a dump truck crash on Thursday night, March 2, will require the lanes to be closed this weekend. Photo by Sue Dremann.

Workers are evaluating a 27-foot-long crack exposing rebar at the far left section of the overpass at U.S. Highway 101 at Embarcadero Road on Friday, March 3. Photo by Sue Dremann.

An engineer measures the width of a vertical crack on the Embarcadero Road overpass to U.S. Highway 101 on March 3. A dump truck struck the structure causing the shut down of two fast lanes and snarling morning traffic. Photo by Sue Dremann.

Caltrans workers and engineers examine the underside of the concrete overpass at U.S. Highway 101 and Embarcadero Road after a dump truck struck the structure. Traffic was snarled for hours. Photo by Sue Dremann.

Caltrans workers examine the Embarcadero Road overpass at U.S. Highway 101 on March 3 after a dump truck that struck the structure caused damage and snarled traffic. Photo by Sue Dremann.

Caltrans workers knock off loose pieces of concrete from the damaged Embarcadero Road overpass at U.S. Highway 101 on March 3 after a dump truck struck the structure. Photo by Sue Dremann

CHP Officer Art Montiel recommended drivers take Interstate Highway 280 while the lanes are closed. Southbound traffic was snarled all the way to Whipple Avenue in Redwood City, according to a CHP traffic-collision report. The congestion eased up at the University Avenue-Embarcadero stretch of Highway 101 around 10 a.m. Traffic east of the freeway in East Palo Alto at the University Avenue overpass and East Bayshore Road was also jammed.

Responding firefighters found a "significant crack in the overpass" and requested Caltrans to the scene to evaluate the damage, CHP officials said.

A Sig-alert was issued at 11:09 p.m. closing the two far left lanes. Drivers were still able to travel on Embarcadero Road and the overpass, police said.

The 2017 Peterbilt truck was going south on the freeway near Embarcadero Road around 10:50 p.m., when it struck the overpass. The bed it was hauling ripped open, leaving debris on lanes, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Singh will be cited, but it's not clear what for, according to Montiel. Drugs or alcohol didn't appear to play a role.

Montiel said the driver was left with cuts to his face and taken to Stanford Hospital for treatment. No other cars were involved in the crash.

The officer said the truck had its lid lifted as it went through the overpass, which is 15 feet and 5 inches tall.

Hydraulic fluid leaked from the truck on the HOV lane as a result of the crash, Montiel said.

A 24-year-old Fremont man, Sukhpal Singh, was driving the two-axle truck, leaving a work site on University Avenue, and forgot to put down the bed of his truck. It was traveling down the freeway in the leftmost lane and hit the overpass, which caused the bed to partially detach, Montiel said.

The CHP was waiting on a Caltrans engineer to arrive from Sacramento Friday afternoon to assess the 27-foot-wide crack the truck left on the overpass, according to Montiel.

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UPDATE: Dump truck hits U.S. Highway 101 overpass

Caltrans called to assess 27-foot-wide crack left behind