OAKFIELD, Maine — One lane of Interstate 95 will remain closed at least until September because of damage caused to an overpass struck by a delimber being hauled on a tractor-trailer Wednesday.
A beam supporting the overpass sustained “major structural damage” and will need to be repaired, a team of engineers from the Maine Department of Transportation determined Thursday, according to MDOT spokesman Ted Talbot. The project will be put out to be bid and completed over the summer, he said.
The crash that damaged the bridge occurred at about 2:30 p.m. last Wednesday, when Gary Theriault, 58, of Fort Kent was driving southbound on the Oakfield-Smyrna Road in a 2003 Western Star tractor-trailer, state police Trooper Chuck Michaud said in a press release issued Wednesday night.
The delimber was sitting too high on the trailer and did not clear the bridge that carries I-95 north over the Oakfield-Smyrna Road.
One lane of I-95 northbound will remain open across the bridge this summer, however, so traffic will not need to be rerouted, according to Talbot.
The delimber was significantly damaged in the accident, but there were no injuries, Michaud reported.
Theriault was cited for having a load that was over height, and other charges may be filed once the investigation is completed, according to the trooper.
