La Pine, Ore. – Two large beams crashed to the ground during ODOT’s Wikiup Safety Project north of La Pine Monday.
The Highway 97 realignment project has an overpass over the railroad tracks which cross the highway’s travel lanes.
According to ODOT, the steal and concrete beams were being set in place by a crane as the first parts of the overpass, providing the skeleton of the bridge deck. Somehow, one of the big beams fell onto the other that was just put in place, and both crashed onto the train tracks below.
Train traffic was put on hold, with three trains delayed as a result of the accident. The tracks were reopened Monday night.
ODOT reports no injuries.