Traffic on the Trans-Canada Highway was disrupted on Saturday, Nov. 11 as tow-truck crews worked to remove a semi truck from a deep ditch next to the Salmon River Bridge.
The truck and it’s refrigerated trailer went off the road following an unexpectedly intense storm which brought heavy, wet snow to the area on Thursday, Nov. 9.
RCMP Salmon Arm detachment watch commander Trevor Medernach said there were no injuries and the crash was likely a matter of “speed based on road conditions.”
The recovery effort on Saturday temporarily closed one lane of highway traffic at the Salmon River Bridge as three large tow trucks moved into position to try to winch the truck free.
After leaving the highway, the truck came to rest on its passenger’s side in a deep and narrow ditch with a small creek feeding into the river at its bottom.
The operators of the tow trucks managed to tilt the truck and its trailer upright and tow it out of the creek and back onto the highway.
The side of the truck and trailer where it came to rest were both badly damaged.
The Salmon River Bridge was the site of another accident earlier this month involving a head-on collision between two pickup trucks which sent three people to hospital.
Replacement of the bridge is a portion of the planned expansion and upgrade of the highway at the west end of Salmon Arm.
-With files from Barb Brouwer