An “illegally over-height” semi truck damaged six county bridges in Oklahoma on Tuesday afternoon. Crews had to shut down four of the bridges to allow inspections and repairs.

The six bridge strikes occurred along the I-44/Will Rogers Turnpike, causing temporary delays. The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) first observed damage on just one of the bridges. Later in the day, they discovered five more bridges that the same semi truck had damaged within an approximately 90-mile range.

“Due to an illegally over-height commercial motor vehicle striking a county bridge above the I-44/Will Rogers Turnpike this afternoon, crews have closed the N.E. Sawyer Rd./County Rd. S. 4220 bridge between E. 460 Rd. and E. 470 Rd. east of Claremore in Rogers County,” the OTA wrote in a post on Facebook.

“The vehicle damaged at least one bridge beam above eastbound Will Rogers Turnpike. Crews have determined it is necessary to close the county bridge until repairs can be made, while traffic remains open underneath on the turnpike. OTA is working with county officials and will provide updates as they become available.”

That update came an hour later in a follow-up Facebook post.

“Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and Oklahoma Department of Transportation crews have quickly inspected multiple county bridges above the I-44/Will Rogers Turnpike after an illegally over-height commercial motor vehicle drove this afternoon from Tulsa to near Miami,” the OTA wrote.

“At this time, six bridges between SH-266 near Verdigris and east of SH-28 near Vinita are showing damage and four of the county road bridges have been closed until repairs can be made. The Will Rogers Turnpike remains open in each direction, but short, temporary closures may occur as inspections continue.”

The semi was well-above the legal height limit for the Oklahoma highway system

According to officials, trucks taller than 14 feet may not travel on Oklahoma’s highway system without proper permits and approved routes. Not only did the semi hit bridges range from 14 feet, 11 inches in clearance to 15 feet, 4 inches, but just four ratchet straps secured its massive load.

“We are continuing to see damage to our state transportation infrastructure from illegal, over-height semi-trucks,” OK Energy Today reports Joe Echelle, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, said. “This is a critical issue that puts the traveling public at risk and is unacceptable.

“We implore truck drivers to follow all Oklahoma laws and work with the state’s size and weights permitting office to ensure that all travelers are safe on our roadways and that our infrastructure remains undamaged by these careless acts.”

In November, a semi hit a bridge in Kansas so hard that the excavator it was hauling punched a hole in the road above it. Thankfully, in that case, as well as in the one this week in Oklahoma, they reported no one injured.

Reactions to the damage caused by the semi on social media

“Six bridges is insane. Like he hit one and just kept going on,” one person commented.

“How do you keep going after hitting the first one or two?” another person questioned.

“I’m a truck driver and I would have pulled my tape measure before I ever left,” read another comment. “That sits way too high on a semi trailer.”

“I can’t believe it’s still on the trailer, seeing as there’s only 4 straps on the load, and the damage done to the bridge suggests a pretty good hit,” one person wrote. “I want to know what brand of straps those are. Asking for a friend.”