Oversized Truck Crashes into Grapevine Bridge
Dallas-Fort Worth area residents who travel Texas 114 and Texas 121 on a regular basis already know what a traffic nightmare those roads can be. Yesterday, the congestion got even worse following an 18 wheeler wreck which subsequently led to the road being closed for an emergency inspection. Just before noon yesterday, a CDL vehicle carrying an oversized load crashed into the Texan Trail overpass bridge in Grapevine. The eastbound section of the highway was reduced to just two lanes yesterday afternoon, while the whole road was closed overnight from 8:00 pm until about 6:00 am this morning. Texan Trail was closed to all vehicles immediately following the wreck as officials were concerned that the accident may have caused significant structural damage to the bridge.
As a DFW auto accident and injury lawyer, I am certainly thankful that no-one was seriously hurt in this incident, but the episode should serve as a reminder of just how significant the consequences caused by negligent truck drivers can be. The reason for the crash was that the trucker was carrying an oversized load which was too tall to pass safely beneath the bridge. According to Grapevine’s commercial vehicle inspection team they “did find violations” which are being blamed for the collision.
The official report regarding the safety of the bridge has yet to be completed, but there is already speculation among Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) officials that Texan Trail may be closed indefinitely until the bridge (which was already scheduled for demolition later this year as part of the DFW Connector project) can be knocked down and replaced.
