The right lane on eastbound U.S. Highway 54 was closed for about six hours Thursday after a piece of National Guard equipment struck the bottom of the Route F overpass bridge.
A group of National Guard members were traveling on the highway around 8:45 a.m. with two construction vehicles when one, a scraper used to move dirt, hit a bridge beam, knocking off a driver's cab on top of the vehicle. The cab landed in the median and was later removed off site. The scraper was three inches too tall for the bridge, which has a height of 15 feet and six inches, according to Capt. Shawn Edwards with the National Guard.
A Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT) bridge inspector observed the Route F bridge and determined it is safe for driving, MODOT Safety and Health Manager Chris Engelbrecht said. The National Guard's scraper dented an outer bridge beam, but there was no other damage to the bridge and it is still "structurally sound," Engelbrecht said. Cones were placed along the Route F southbound shoulder, directly above the damaged beam, to prevent drivers from traveling on that section of the bridge.
Guardsmen were heading to a National Guard armory in Festus, Mo. from the Turkey Creek Golf Course in Jefferson City. They have been assisting the construction of a handicap accessible golf course on the site. Their route was supposed to take them on 94, but they misread directions and landed on U.S. Highway 54, Engelbrecht said. Routes are predetermined, he added, so incidences like that on Thursday don't happen. Guardsmen fabricated a height stick to prevent any further accidents on their way to Festus.
Engelbrecht said the damaged beam likely won't be replaced, but will be straightened.