Big Rig’s Load Strikes Bridge Over Tollway

A tractor-trailer hauling a bulldozer struck a bridge that was under construction on the California 241 tollway in Rancho Santa Margarita early Wednesday, raining debris that injured a worker at the site and forcing the closure of the road’s southbound lanes.

The big rig’s driver, a 47-year-old Huntington Beach man who escaped injury, did not have a permit to carry an oversized load on the tollway and apparently had taken a detour from his approved route to avoid congestion on the Santa Ana Freeway.

The construction worker identified only as a 36-year-old Riverside man--was transported to Mission Viejo Hospital with moderate injuries, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The truck, owned by Marco Rental of Santa Ana, was traveling about 50 mph in the middle southbound lane of the tollway when the bulldozer strapped to the trailer bed slammed into the Avenida de las Banderas bridge about 7:30 a.m., according to the CHP.

Caltrans, which issues permits that determine the routes for all rigs taller than 14 feet, said it restricted the driver from the tollway because the 15-foot, 9-inch load they were told he would be carrying was one inch too tall to clear the overpass.

The load turned out to be closer to 17 feet, Caltrans said, too tall to squeeze under several crossings he would have encountered even had he stayed on his assigned route.

The approved permit directed the driver to travel on the 91, Orange and Santa Ana freeways, said Caltrans spokeswoman Beth Beeman. However, Caltrans did not give the origin or destination of the driver’s route.

“This is a case of a driver that was going on a roadway he wasn’t permitted to travel on,” she said. “This isn’t a Caltrans issue.”

The transportation department came under increased scrutiny in the late 1990s for the way it issued truck permits after a series of accidents--including one that resulted in a death--exposed flaws in the system. The agency says it has since improved the process.

In keeping with standard policy, Marco Rental’s permit for that route was automatically pulled by Caltrans. The driver was also ticketed by the CHP for violating his permit. Officials at Marco Rental could not be reached for comment.