Two people were hurt when part of a bridge collapsed about 8:30 this morning in Fort Dodge. Workers were in the process of removing part of the deck of the bridge where Highway 169 goes over Second Avenue when it fell about 20 feet. The two people were standing on the deck of the bridge and taken to Trinity Regional Medical Center with their conditions are not known.
Norm McDonald, an official with the Iowa Department of Transportation Office of Bridges and Structures, said a contractor was working on the bridge in the southbound lanes removing the bridge deck with an excavator. It is not known if the excavator hit a beam or what happened but a beam gave way and the excavator dropped through the bridge deck.
The excavator did not fall on to the traveled portion of the road. Engineers from the Iowa D.O.T. are trying to assess the situation. Second Avenue is closed until engineers have everything cleared and the bridge stabilized.
By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City