A truck driver who managed to wedge his 42-tonne milk tanker in the middle of a historic bridge in Cambridge was following his GPS unit say Police.
The 108-year-old Victoria Street steel bridge has a three tonne capacity and was built to accomodate horses and carts.
The bridge sustained damage to hand railings and footpath as the full tanker which had come from Tirau went into the curb.
The driver was believed to have diverted off State Highway 1, and was going to come up Shakespeare but couldn’t negotiate a roundabout, so went around the block to Cambridge.
He then saw a sign to Te Awamutu, followed it and once on the bridge realised he shouldn’t be on it but couldn’t back the truck out.
Waipa District Council contract engineer Eddie Shadrock told the Waikato Times when he was called out to the incident around midnight, the tanker had gone over the curb blowing three tyres and damaging its steering components.
Shamrock says the cost of damage repairs to the bridge could be anywhere between $10,000 to $12,000, and the tanker company will be liable for these costs.
Hamilton Police senior sergeant Andrew O’Reilly told the Waikato Times the driver was following his GPS unit as he traveled onto the bridge at 11.30pm.
The tanker was taken to Hamilton for repairs. The bridge will also be closed for a day for repairs to be carried out says the Waipa District Council.
