Melbourne commuters were left shaking their heads – and checking their train apps – after a truck carrying an excavator managed to hit not one, but two bridges in a matter of hours.
A truck carrying an excavator under a railway bridge over the City Link near Church Street in Cremorne on Wednesday afternoon.Credit: Nine News
The rogue rig first struck a bridge under St Kilda Road in Southbank about 12.45pm on Wednesday, scattering concrete and leaving one of the excavator’s buckets behind in the tunnel.
“It’s not little – it’s a 50-tonne excavator,” witness Andrew told 3AW. “There’s concrete all over the place. It’s hit it that hard it’s knocked one of the buckets clean off.”
Police said the incident caused two eastbound lanes to close after a large part of the truck’s load fell onto the road.
The same truck driver reportedly made it just a few kilometres down the road before striking again hours later – this time a rail overpass on Batman Avenue near South Yarra about 4.15pm.
The double whammy brought parts of Melbourne’s train network to a halt, with commuters on the Sandringham, Frankston, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines facing delays of up to 20 minutes while Metro Trains worked to assess damage and clear the scene.
The truck carrying the excavator at the initial crash site on Alexandra Avenue. Credit: Jocelyn Suiter
VicTraffic reported the outbound entries to the CityLink/Monash Freeway, which were closed after the truck hit the second bridge, have since been reopened.