INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Latest on damage to an Interstate 465 overpass on Indianapolis’ west side (all times local):
2:30 p.m.
Indiana State Police say damage to an Interstate 465 overpass that’s closed miles of the highway occurred when a car crusher being hauled by a truck activated and struck concrete beams as the load passed beneath that bridge.
Capt. Dave Bursten says the car compactor was being hauled by a tractor when that machine malfunctioned and rose on its own. He tells The Indianapolis Star the activated compacting equipment struck the Rockville Road/U.S. 36 bridge Tuesday as it passed underneath it.
The collision damaged four of the bridge’s concrete beams, showering the highway with concrete and leaving reinforcing steel dangling beneath the span.
Indianapolis police say six cars were damaged in the incident and one woman was hospitalized in good condition after debris from the bridge fell onto her car.
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1:21 p.m.
Indiana’s transportation agency says Interstate 465’s northbound lanes are likely to remain closed or restricted for several days on Indianapolis’ west side as crews assess damage to a bridge that was struck by a load being hauled by a truck.
Indiana Department of Transportation spokesman Nathan Riggs says Tuesday’s collision damaged four of the Rockville Road bridge’s concrete beams, exposing reinforcing steel and showering the highway with concrete chunks.
Riggs says the highway’s northbound lanes are closed between I-465’s Interstate 70 interchange and the 10th Street interchange.
He says INDOT crews are assessing the bridge damage, but both the highway’s northbound lanes and the bridge will remain closed “until further notice.”
Riggs says INDOT planned to provide an update on the closures Tuesday afternoon.
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9:51 a.m.
Indiana State Police say a semi struck and damaged a bridge over Interstate 465, forcing the closure of the highway’s northbound lanes as crews assess the damage.
The truck collided with the Rockville Road bridge on Indianapolis’ west side about 8 a.m. Tuesday, shattering the span’s edge and exposing bars of reinforcing steel. The impact showered the highway beneath the bridge with large concrete chunks and debris from the semi.
State police Sgt. John Perrine says a large concrete chunk smashed through a car’s windshield, landing on its passenger seat. He says the driver is believed to have suffered only non-life-threatening injuries.
The highway’s northbound lanes and the bridge are closed until further notice as crews assess the damage.
Perrine says investigators aren’t sure how the crash happened.
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