A historic French bridge near Lyon with a 3.5-ton limit has been damaged after a trucker crossed it while hauling a cement mixer weighing 20-tons.
Fabien Bagnon, Vice-President of the metropolis of Lyon, said that the situation was “close to a real disaster”.
In a smartphone video of the incident, uploaded to Facebook on Friday, a man can be heard saying in French “the bridge is cracking!” amid audible cracking noises.
Fortunately, the trucker made it across and the bridge remained intact.
However, according to reports in France, several elements of the bridge were greatly weakened under the weight of the truck. The crossing is now completely closed – even pedestrians and cyclists cannot use it. It isn’t known how long the repairs will take.
The driver of the truck has been identified by the police and will soon face charges.
Photo credit: Google Street View + Mariejo Convard / Facebook