A rail overpass on Riverside Dr., where a chunk of concrete fell off and crashed through a passing vehicle's windshield yesterday was visually inspected two weeks ago and deemed safe, according to a CN Rail spokesman.
At around 8:55 a.m., a 44-year-old Ottawa man was driving his Nissan Pathfinder in the northbound lanes when the concrete, weighing an estimated 14 lbs. and about the size of a shoe box, slammed into his windshield on the passenger side.
The driver was alone in the SUV and was shaken but uninjured.
"The company did not see any exceptions at that time (of the inspection) but we are following up with our own structural engineer who will be on site," said CN Rail spokesman Mark Hallman.
Any sections of concrete in danger of falling were chipped away and removed by the engineers yesterday. The condition of the overpass will be monitored, said Hallman.
National Capital Commission records show the overpass was given to CN Rail in 1972 and is CN's responsibility, an NCC spokesman said.
Hallman said ownership of the bridge is under review but it is not owned by the NCC or CN, even though CN has been responsible for inspection and maintenance.
Although CN Rail owns the tracks on the bridge, they are only used by Via Rail passenger trains. No freight trains use the overpass.
"From our review of the situation, the bridge is fully structurally sound," said Hallman.
A Via Rail official said the steel and concrete overpass was deemed structurally sound immediately after the incident and trains continued to use it throughout the day en route to Toronto.
The falling concrete left debris on the roadway and raised concerns about more pieces falling onto Riverside Dr.
The normally busy commuter artery was shut down in both directions for almost six hours so that the overpass could be inspected by CN Rail structural engineers from Montreal.
The road reopened at 2:45 p.m.
There were no injuries in the incident but it did revive memories of the collapse of a Quebec highway overpass on Sept. 29.
The 36-year-old Laval overpass crashed down on motorists, trapping and killing five people.
During excavation of the debris, a second overpass built at the same time was torn down as a precaution.
