The elevated section of Provincial Highway No. 1 from New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) to Taipei reopened to traffic after an incident involving a steel beam yesterday morning.
One of the two lanes affected reopened for traffic at about 11am after obstacles were removed, Sanchong police said.
The incident occurred at 5:50am when the steel beam fell from a flatbed trailer driven by a 34-year-old man surnamed Hung (洪) as the vehicle was traveling along the Zhongan Street section of the highway, causing severe traffic congestion and forcing authorities to close the road and redirect vehicles, police said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The steel beam broke through the guardrail and damaged parts of the highway when it fell.
Although it did not hit the ground below the elevated highway, debris hit two vehicles that were parked below, police said.
The damage stretched about 15m along the road, but no one was injured in the incident, they said.
The driver was not under the influence of alcohol, police added.
A preliminary assessment found that there were no major structural issues, New Taipei City Maintenance Office head Cheng Li-hui (鄭立輝) said.
However, there is a hole and steel reinforcing bars are protruding from the highway, Cheng said, adding that it would take about two months to repair.
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