The Pullen Road overpass spanning outbound Western Blvd. is safe for traffic after being hit by a truck last Wednesday, according to transportation officials.

During spring break, an 18-wheeler carrying a large piece of construction equipment struck the underside of the bridge when the driver failed to lower the boom on the equipment below the legal height, according to a police report. There were no injuries and the truck driver has been charged with a traffic violation.

The wreckage is fully cleared and the bridge and Western Blvd. are reopened after an inspection by the N.C. Department of Transportation determined it was “capable of handling traffic,” according to a press release.

Before reopening, the damage was visually assessed to determine any damage. The visual inspection did not show any areas of cracking, including the steel deck and beam anchor bolts, according to Dan Holderman, the State Bridge Management Engineer.

If cracks are found, NC-DOT uses dye penetrant to determine the extent of the cracking. The same process is used for all highway bridges in N.C.

“The accident at Pullen Road did not cause major damage, so we would not expect any damage that could not be visually seen,” Holderman said.

Holderman also said that N.C. averages a couple of these type bridge damages a month.

“The vast majority are caused by equipment that is loaded after the height of the equipment is not measured, or the hydraulics of the equipment tend to raise the equipment’s booms if they are not properly tied down,” Holderman said.

The Wolfline buses were not running when the accident occurred. In addition, according to an official map of Wolfline bus routes, no Wolfline buses travel on or under the Pullen Road overpass.