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.

Updated

Published

Jul 22, 2017, 03:15 PM

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

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