A section of East Platte Avenue was closed Thursday afternoon after a large truck carrying a forklift clipped an overpass, city officials said.
All directions of travel were closed on Platte between North Wahsatch Avenue and North Prospect Street after the forklift on the truck struck the overpass of North El Paso Street, city spokeswoman Vanessa Zink said.
A Colorado Springs police officer measures the height of the North El Paso Street overpass at East Platte Avenue on Thursday.
The forklift, Zink said, was too high on the truck to clear the overpass. Police said the driver was cited for being in violation of federal Department of Transportation commercial vehicle standards.
El Paso Street was also closed at the intersection, where crews were working under the overpass.
Crews were assessing the structural damage to the overpass as well as repair plans, and police said that Platte would remain closed through mid-morning Friday, when more information on reopening the road will be available. El Paso Street, police said, will be closed indefinitely while the overpass is repaired.
The crash happened at around 1 p.m. Thursday afternoon, neighbors said. Dean Dunston, who lives nearby, said he heard it from his home.
“It was enormously loud — it sounded like it might be thunder, really loud thunder,” he said. “And then there was a lot of clunking that happened afterwards.”
Dunston said he rushed out to find a large cloud of dust billowing from the crash, debris littering the road and several stopped cars. He added that among the debris were several pigeons that had been nested under the overpass when it was struck.
The North El Paso Street overpass at East Platte Avenue just after a truck carrying a forklift clipped its bottom at around 1 p.m. on Thursday.
No other crashes or injuries were reported in connection with the incident. Zink said drivers in the area should stay away or use East Boulder Street or Pikes Peak
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