PHOENIX, Md. — Images of a large septic truck and a massive tree on the Carroll Road bridge after its collapse in Phoenix point to weight it could not support.
“I think the tree did it,” said longtime resident Richard Thomas, “Yes. It could have been a combination of both, but then the tree hit the bridge, everything went down.”
WATCH: Investigators focus on septic truck and fallen tree following bridge collapse
The bridge, originally built in 1879, carries a posted weight limit of 51,000 pounds.
On its face, a septic truck, estimated when full at half that weight, wouldn’t impact it, but the added weight of a massive tree might have.
“It was real windy and it just uprooted from the bank, because the tree was right on the stream bank and it just uprooted,” said Thomas.
“So this was Mother Nature’s fault?” we asked.
“Yes. More or less,” he responded.
Various county agencies are now scrambling to make their own assessment.
“We know a tree fell. We know the bridge collapsed,” said Ron Snyder of Baltimore County Public Works & Transportation, “Again, that is up for police and our team of engineers to determine exactly what happened.”
While cleaning up after the collapse presents its own obstacles, of course, the bigger challenge will come in looking at repairing or replacing the bridge.
Making that determination also will be left up to engineers to decide, but in the meantime, two separate roads, which lead to and from the bridge will remain closed, impacting the estimated 2,500 vehicles, which cross it on any given day.
“They were supposed to replace that bridge a long time ago. The bridge is in bad shape,” Thomas told us.
“Is it one you use a lot? Is that going to be a nuisance for you getting in and out?”
“It’s going to be a nuisance for everybody,” he responded, “A lot of people use this road right here. It’s a real busy road. It’s going to put a damper on a lot of things.”
