Miss. bridge collapses under loaded gravel truck

Updated Oct 5, 2017
Photo courtesy of Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten.Photo courtesy of Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten.

The Artman Road bridge near the Jefferson County line in Mississippi collapsed Aug. 28 when a truck loaded with gravel attempted to cross, The Natchez Democrat reports. Police in Natchez responded to reports of a bridge collapse and discovered a dump truck carrying gravel sitting among the rubble in the creek below.

Adams County Road Manager Robbie Dollar told the news agency that he believed the dump truck weighed more than the bridge’s 8,000-pound weight limit, which caused the wooden bridge to collapse. The truck’s operator was unharmed, but the truck sustained damage to its front end, gas tank, and more. Lloyd Songe Marine Inc., the owner of the dump truck, used two track hoes and a bulldozer to pull the truck out of the creek.

“The residents told me they [the dump trucks] had been going back and forth on that bridge all week,” District 5 Supervisor Calvin Butler told the news agency, explaining that the bridge cut travel through the rural area by 10 to 15 miles. “That bridge is really just for cars. It is not for heavy duty vehicles like that.”

The accident is under investigation, and no citations have been issued as yet, but Butler said he thinks the owner of the truck or the driver will have to pay for the damage. “We had a sign posted that it couldn’t handle that weight limit,” Butler told the news agency. “He ignored the weight limit. I don’t know how Robbie feels, but I feel like he is going to be liable to pay.”

Butler said he would speak with Dollar and the Adams County Board Attorney Scott Slover about holding the driver or company responsible for the damage.