Ontario Provincial Police say the eastbound lanes of Highway 417 near Vankleek Hill, Ont. will likely be reduced to one lane for several days due to “buckling” on the Aberdeen Road overpass.
The eastbound lanes of Hwy. 417 were fully closed between exit 27 at Highway 34 and exit 17 at County Road 10 Thursday morning, with the detour taking drivers through Vankleek Hill. The OPP announced one lane of the highway reopened just before noon on Thursday.
The lanes on the highway east of Ottawa were closed Wednesday afternoon when drivers reported potential structural concerns on the highway overpass. Police say the road is closed due to “unsafe conditions” on the Aberdeen Road overpass.
“Sections of the bridge appear to be buckling and will be closed for repairs, likely for a few days,” the OPP said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Crews with the Ministry of Transportation have determined the overpass is “structurally unsound,” according to police.
“One of the panels in the eastbound lanes on highway 417 had actually lifted up, kind of buckled a little bit. it was lifted up about 15 cm and that was deemed to be unsafe,” OPP Const. Sydney Jones told CTV News Ottawa on Thursday.
Jones says construction crews have also checked the westbound lanes over the bridge and another bridge in the area.
“That bridge was deemed to be in good condition,” Jones said.
“It’s possible that the reason for the damage is due to the excessive heat that we have been having over the last few days, which possibly could cause the road to expand and cause that panel to pop out like it did.”
Construction crews were on the scene Thursday morning fixing the road, including “putting down asphalt in the lane where it was elevated,” according to Jones.
Westbound lanes on Highway 417 remain open.
CTV News Ottawa has reached out to the MTO for comment.
With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Katie Griffin