Another Bridge Too Far for Excavator

We have reported on machinery bridge strikes many times here on the Digger Man Blog, and here we are once again, covering the latest one!

One would think that with all the latest technology at our disposal these days, that excavators hitting bridges while being transported would have been consigned to the history books now, however it still seems to be happening even more than before.

This latest incident happened last week in Osage County, Kansas, when a Caterpillar 323 Next Generation excavator travelling on the back of a low loader (Low Boy for our American friends) struck the South Morrill Road bridge on U.S. Highway 75.

The Cat 323 has an operating weight of 25000 kg and during the transportation, hit the bridge with such force that its boom/dipper arm penetrated the upper bridge deck, stopping the truck dead in its tracks.

This incident will undoubtably close the bridge for some significant time while it’s inspected for structural damage and repair work to be carried out in due course.

Fortunately, nobody was injured in this incident, metal and concrete can be repaired which can only be a good thing.  

Checkout how the incident was reported on local TV news station 12 News.