The Horine Road railroad trestle in Festus was struck Monday morning (April 4) by a grader loaded on a trailer, Festus Police Chief Tim Lewis said.
It was the second time the trestle was struck in a month.
On March 8, a box truck hit the same trestle, which Burlington Northern Railroad owns.
Lewis said police received a call at 8:13 a.m. Monday about the latest incident.
“A truck pulling a trailer with a grader on it hit a support beam of the trestle,” Lewis said. “The grader on the trailer was about 9-feet-high and the beam is about 8-feet high. It got wedged in.”
Lewis said the truck is late-model Ford, but he had no information about the driver.
He said Horine Road was closed at the trestle for approximately 30 minutes while the trailer and grader were extricated and the trestle was inspected for damage.
“It was closed so Burlington Northern could come investigate the integrity of the structure,” Lewis said.
Burlington Northern spokesman Andy Williams said his company deemed the trestle structurally sound.
“When (a railroad trestle accident) happens, we inspect that it is not damaged,” he said. “Once cleared, we resume train traffic.”
He said these types of accidents often involve drivers unfamiliar with an area.
“Roads have changed; vehicle traffic has changed,” he said.
Lewis said the driver was not cited for the accident.