REGINA — A third overpass strike in recent weeks has sparked fresh questions at the legislature about permitting and load accuracy.
Plenty of questions were asked by reporters Tuesday after yet another incident in which a semi carrying an oversized load hit an overpass in Saskatchewan.
The latest incident took place east of Moose Jaw after a semi carrying an excavator hit the bridge at the intersection of Highway 39 and Highway 1 on Monday.
That followed two incidents in Saskatoon in which overpasses were hit in recent weeks.
At the legislature Tuesday, Highways Minister Kim Gartner was asked about the incident and whether there were accurate measurements on signs at the overpasses.
Gartner responded there is a permitting process that the Ministry of Highways follows.
“When permits are issued, they’re for specific routes and for specific heights and loads,” said Gartner.
When asked if he had any concerns about the accuracy of the heights, Gartner said he did not have concerns about that but did point to other potential issues.
“I guess my concern would be the application process that’s being provided, the accuracy of the height of loads that being provided, the weight of loads that’s being provided… it’s a process that’s gone through with the permitting division and I have confidence in the staff that do that.”
As for whether Highways plans to look into what happened, Gartner said they will “take a look at the permit that was issued. We’ll take a look at doing an investigation into what happened and I haven’t heard from staff exactly where that is yet.”
