A trucker in Iowa was able to get most of the way across an historic bridge before his 30-ton truck brought it crashing down behind him.

Justin Hippen, a 29-year-old trucker, was driving in a rural area in Winneshiek County on the morning of May 5th when he came to the 100+ year old Daley’s Bridge. According to police reports, the weight limit of 3 tons was clearly posted, but Hippen drove over it anyway.

Hippen was incredibly lucky that the bridge held up to his rig’s 30-ton weight for most of the journey. It wasn’t until he was about three-quarters of the way across the bridge that it began to collapse. He was travelling fast enough that his rig reached the other side with only the rear wheels of his trailer dangling over where the bridge used to be.





Amazingly, no one was injured in the collapse. Hippen had gotten far enough across to avoid injury, and the bridge is in such an unpopulated area that, in an estimate done in 2013, it was found to serve 30 cars per day.

But locals say that the collapse will cause more trouble than just adding on extra time to a few commutes. This section of the Upper Iowa River is a popular recreation area for rafters and canoers, and just because no one was injured in the collapse, doesn’t mean the danger is over.

“We just want to get the structure out of the water and get the river open and safe again,” said County Engineer Lee Bjerke according to WXOW. “A lot of fishing goes on it, a lot of canoeing, tubers, it has a big recreational draw. And we just don’t want anyone coming down floating into the bridge and impaling themselves, getting cut on it, or worse you know getting pulled under it or anything like that.”

As to why the trucker went over the bridge, there are some conflicting reports. Some sources claim that the driver was following his GPS system and didn’t see the posted weight limit.

Since the bridge has been completely destroyed, it will have to be replaced instead of repaired. Estimates for how much the replacement will cost are “a little old” according to Bjerke. “We’re going to have to go back into that now, and this could really eat up our entire $900,000 depending on how we try to get this new bridge in.”

Hippen has been charged with violating a weight embargo. There has been no word yet on if he will face any further charges or disciplinary actions.

Source: wcfcourier, wxow, kcrg, kwwl, crescotimes

Image: Winneshiek County Sheriff