Saturday 30th September 2006

At 12:30 pm three eastbound lanes and a pedestrian walk-way of the de la Concorde overpass in Laval, Quebec, Canada collapsed onto the busy Autoroute 19. Three vehicles and a motorcycle fell about 15 meters (49 feet) on top of two vehicles that were driving on Autoroute 19. Six people were severely injured and five people were killed due to the concrete road crushing the two vehicles driving beneath the overpass. Described as “young and modern,” the overpass was built in 1970 and was to have a 70 year life span. Months before the collapse, local residents had noticed debris falling off of the overpass and an hour before the collapse large chunks of debris measuring 15 cm x 36 cm were found near the overpass (Gazette, 2006). A Transport Quebec crew was dispatched to remove the debris, but they didn’t deem it necessary to shut down the overpass. Less than an hour before the collapse, a Transport Department patroller inspected the overpass by using a visual and auditory inspection and concluded that there was no indication the overpass was unstable!