Emergency services are directing traffic in Melbourne’s CBD after the Spencer Street rail bridge was hit earlier this morning at Flinders Street.
All westbound lanes of Flinders St are closed at Spencer Street and all southbound lanes of Spencer St are being diverted onto westbound lanes of Flinders Street.
Police have reported that the incident occurred at around 8:20am, when the truck was travelling south on Spencer St when it struck the rail bridge and rolled over. The driver, a man in his 50s, was treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
There were no other injuries to the public.
The crash comes after a similar incident on July 6 this year, when a truck slammed into the rail bridge at the corner of Flinders and Spencer streets, sparking delays on multiple train lines, and again in October 2019, when an oversized truck hit the bridge – causing similar delays.
With traffic returning to peak conditions after the end of covid lockdowns, bridge strikes may become a common site once more. In particular, Montague Street bridge – a diminutive bridge – has become infamous for the sheer volume of unwary trucks it captures.
Motorists have been instructed to allow plenty of extra time through the area and to consider using King Street and/or Collins Street as alternative routes around the closures.
Trains are now running again on the rail bridge after bridge inspectors cleared the bridge of damage, however the intersection will re-open and trains will resume as soon as it is safe to do so.
More updates are available on the VicTraffic website.