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Shawnigan Lake road reopens after truck damages E&N rail bridge

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A section of road near Shawnigan Lake has fully reopened to traffic after a truck struck a railway bridge, collapsing the structure.

Road maintenance contractor Emcon Services closed East Shawnigan Lake Road between Recreation Road and Radway Road early Monday morning.

Photos provided to CTV News showed a large truck wedged underneath the heavily damaged E&N rail bridge.

Traffic in the area was being detoured around the lake onto West Shawnigan Lake Road.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure announced the road had reopened around 8 p.m. Monday.

"I've lived in Shawnigan for 21 years now and no truck I have ever seen hit the bridge has hit that hard," said Kaitlyn Parker, who was driving home from work when she witnessed the crash.

Larry Stevenson, CEO of the Island Rail Corridor Foundation, which owns and manages the E&N trail, said engineers will assess whether the bridge can be raised to avoid similar collisions in the future.

"The engineers are going to have to take a look at it," Stevenson said Monday. "If we can do it, we'll certainly incorporate it into the plan."

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