A portion of a bridge in the RM of Clayton dropped into the Swan River on the same day it was opened to traffic.
The recently-completed bridge on the Dyck Memorial Road, just west of Swan Plain, had been opened before noon on September 14, said Duane Hicks, reeve of the RM of Clayton.
“One row of pilings under the bridge sunk at approximately 4:30 p.m.,” said Hicks. “At this point we do not know what would cause that. The pilings were installed to proper industry standards. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
“Not being bridge engineers or bridge inspectors we at the RM would not be able to critique any possible structural flaws in the bridge.”
Hicks said he is thankful that the bridge was closed to traffic almost immediately after the incident was reported.
“We had the barricades set up within minutes after the report came in as our staff was working within a couple of miles of the bridge.”
He said that since the bridge is new, the RM will not incur any further expenses other than the original contract as a result of this unforeseen occurrence.
“It is our understanding that there will be an investigation by the companies that did the construction and engineering to try and find out what caused the pilings to sink,” said Hicks.
There is a detour in place for farmers and others in the area who were planning to use the bridge. Hicks said it was too soon to know how long it would take until the bridge would be reopened.
