August 13th, 2025

Top bridge experts helping with Whoop-Up situation


By Lethbridge Herald on August 13, 2025.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman What the city is calling girder number four, which runs under the inner east bound lane of the bridge, currently closed, has sustained the most damage and needs repairs. Multiple precautions are being taken to prevent further damage.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald

After the underside of Whoop-Up Drive bridge was struck by a flatbed carrying heavy equipment causing damage to a few of the girders last week, some of the top bridge experts in the country – who just happened to be in Lethbridge on other business the day of the collision- are being consulted regarding any necessary repairs. 

Joel Sanchez, director of infrastructure services with the City of Lethbridge, told media on Tuesday that the experts have assured them the lanes that are open now are safe for motorists to travel on, and city engineers continue to monitor the underside of the bridge daily.

He said the experts are taking into consideration not only the static load of cars on the bridge, but also the dynamic load of flowing traffic. 

“We have staff that is measuring and inspecting the girders and that information is being related to the experts, who are some of the top experts in bridge maintenance in Canada,” said Sanchez. 

He explained that four of the six girders of the bridge were damaged on Aug. 6 and the support pillars will remain in place to allow them to continue to assess the situation. 

To help people understand where the damage occurred, the city is numbering them from one to six, from north to south. 

“Number one is damaged but remains safe for motorist to use,” said Sanchez. “That is the one that is going West bound that is currently open and will remain open. We will continue to monitor it on a daily basis.”

He added that number two and three are damaged and repairs are being planned, which are the other two west bound lanes that are currently closed. 

“Number four is the one that sustained the most damage. That is the one lane going east bound that is closed and will remain close for some time while we assess the repairs and maintenance that we need to do on that.”

He said number five and six were not damaged and those girders are under the two east bound lanes that are open and will remain open.  

“I also want to mention that we don’t have a timeline or repair cost yet,” Sanchez pointed out. “We are too early into assessing the damages. This Friday we will be doing some work, so early next week we will have more information.”

He said to manage some of the traffic going on to Whoop-Up Drive, starting today at noon the Scenic Drive northbound to Whoop-Up westbound ramp will be closed.

“It will be closed to reduce traffic and to help with transit services as we have seen delays on transit services due to congestion on Whoop-Up Drive and these measures will help alleviate some of those.”

Traffic flow is also being managed by adjusting traffic light’s timing on both ends of Whoop-Up Drive. 

“We also want to stress that we want to keep everyone safe,” said Sanchez. “The lanes that are open, are open for a reason. We have zipper merge in place, and we have webcams for people to look at the conditions of the bridge.”

He said they are also working with Alberta transportation to make sure that Highway 3 remains open as another option for residents. 

Another precaution the city is taking to avoid further damage to the girders is restricting heavy load trucks from using Whoop-Up Drive until further notice and Sanchez said they are contacting various companies that use heavy load trucks to alert them of the changes and to ask them to make sure their drivers use Highway 3 to reach West Lethbridge. 

Mayor Blaine Hyggen also told media Tuesday that he has received numerous messages, calls and emails from residents expressing their frustration regarding the congestion on Whoop-Up Drive and the multi-vehicle collision that took place on Monday afternoon on Highway 3. He said that on behalf of City Council, he wanted to ask residents for patience while the experts assess the situation. 

“I completely understand, and we have heard loud and clear the frustration from motorist, especially those who live and commute to the West side on a daily basis, and on behalf of city council I want to apologize for it, but we want to make sure the bridge is safe.”

Hyggen also said it was his understanding that because the damage was due to an accident, the cost recovery will be done through insurance, and therefore taxes will not be affected. 

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Grumpyguy

I am hoping there is a thorough investigation as to why this happened in order to prevent this from happening again. How did the truck driver get so far off course as to end up in the river valley going under a low clearance bridge?

Say What . . .

Escort vehicle failure? Where were the escort vehicles? The maximum height was clearly marked at 4m or 13.12ft and a professional driver must know their vehicle/load height. There was a failure in multiple areas including the driver of the truck and with the escort vehicles.
Did they use an app for directions that lead them down there? They were not from Lethbridge obviously, because there is not much room anywhere for them to turn around a large unit such as that once they started downhill. Not even the turn off part way down and I am not sure if there is room at the water treatment plant. As it was they had to tear down fencing so they could turn around on the grass, which in itself was lucky the ground was not soft and that heavy load get stuck driving and sinking.
If a driver is not sure if he will make it under at bridge he should not try, or at least have the escort driver slowly guide them! I have seen this done!
But it is easy to be an arm chair expert! I am glad I am not the driver or the company! That is going to be a large bill to pay for the repairs!

Last edited 6 hours ago by Say What . . .
Charles

As part of the analysis perhaps the City should consider closing traffic access going under the bridge to prevent possible more catastrophic future damage.

Say What . . .

Unfortunately that is not possible because the water treatment plant needs access for trucks to bring in chemicals and othe supplies and I would assume their will be construction equipment for the expansion of the plant.
That truck was not supposed to be there! I have watched multiple trucks, city trucks, contractor trucks and delivery trucks go under that bridge while going to the treatment plant without incident. This was an oversized load which was not following rules and there were obviously several failures by parties involved.

Say What . . .

It is very frustrating, but there is no quick fix. I have to travel back and forth daily from the westside and downtown even, has been like a parking lot on the the streets feeding onto the westbound ramps/avenues.
The damage is done! We will just have to think about the traffic jams in Vancouver, or Calgary which occur everyday and drives to work in larger cities often takes an hour. Getting angry only brings out road rage and that often ends in accidents, which will shut down those already restricted lanes and make things much worse.
Be patient, leave earlier and expect delays! We cannot do anything to alleviate the damages and even then, replacing those support beams could be even more disruptive!
I am actually considering purchasing an ebike and know I would arrive home much sooner, with plenty of room on the pedestrian bridge.

Last edited 9 hours ago by Say What . . .
Chmie

Looks like heavy duty and possibly oversized equipment will continue driving under the main bridge in Lethbridge so the risk of a similar accident is not zero. Since we can’t raise the bridge can we improve signage and lower the road? The next accident could be more catastrophic and make us wish we had a third bridge. George



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