Excavator arm crashes into overhead bridge along Balestier Road: A timeline of what happened
An excavator being carried by a trailer crashed into an overhead bridge along Balestier Road on Friday (July 21) night. Work took place overnight to remove the damaged bridge. Here's a recap by The Straits Times team reporting from the scene.
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9.30pm (July 21): The arm of an excavator being ferried on a trailer crashed into an overhead pedestrian bridge along Balestier Road. "There was a very loud noise. The bridge moved and then stood still," said one witness.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Part of Balestier Road was closed and traffic diverted.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
9.55pm: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) was alerted to the accident. The excavator was not fully retracted while being transported on the trailer.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
12.58am: Police said the 57-year-old driver of the trailer and his 59-year-old employer were arrested in connection with the accident.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
1.50am: Work began to set up road barriers and clear tree branches.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Work got underway to dismantle the overhead bridge.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
4.45am: The damaged half of the overhead bridge was removed.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Around 5.20am: The entire overhead bridge was dismantled. LTA, in a statement issued later, said the structural integrity of the bridge had been compromised. This was the first time since 2010 that LTA had to remove the horizontal beams of a pedestrian bridge due to damage from a vehicle.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Workers cleaning up the top of the central column of the bridge before opening the roads to traffic.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
Only the central column and the staircases of the overhead bridge were left standing.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
Only the central column and the staircases of the overhead bridge were left standing.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
7.30am: The affected roads reopened to traffic.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
