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Tricky fix after truck crashes on bridge with rickety history

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ST. FRANCISVILLE - A tricky situation for crews to deal with Tuesday after a truck damaged a bridge then flipped over in a rural part of St. Francisville. The bridge has a rickety history and has been the focus of past WBRZ reports.

The accident happened on the Island Road Bridge across Williams Creek. In 2014, crews did a quick repair in less than 24 hours since it's the only way in or out for residents on the other side.
 
Then, residents blamed trucks foing to and from a nearby gravel pit. That appears to have been the case again Monday.

A witness told us the bridge buckled under the weight of the truck, causing the driver to lose control. The bridge couldn't handle the weight of a tow truck and the damaged dump truck, so a rope was used to pull it back across instead.

As the crash was cleared, a parish worker waded underneath the bridge checking for damage. The director of West Feliciana Parish Public Works told News 2's Brett Buffington it was driver error.

"This isn't a bridge-related issue," Jim Ferguson opines. "We're going to be able to repair it in about 3-4 hours Friday."

That damage consists of broken beams. It's enough to keep other heavy trucks from crossing until Friday's fix. The company that runs the gravel pit has to pause trucking on the road until the weekend.

The bridge is over 40-years-old. Ferguson says it isn't on the list of bridges West Feliciana is looking to replace, but some neighbors say that should change.

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