UPDATE: SB Hwy 41 could be closed for months after oversized load hits bridge

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - The Highway 41 southbound Pigeon Creek Bridge is closed until further notice.

An accident on Tuesday involving a vehicle carrying an oversized load caused significant damage to the bridge.

"What people can expect moving forward is that we will set up a detour route, around state route 57 and head to I-69,″ said INDOT Director of Communications Jason Tiller.

Indiana State Police say the driver was cited for expired registration and ticketed for violating the terms of the oversize permit. They say the truck was supposed to turn on Lynch Road then take I-69, and the flagger leading the truck radioed back that the load was too big.

The detour is creating issues for many who use Highway 41 on a daily basis.

James Carter drives into work on 41 every day from Fort Branch.

“I was scheduled to be here at 9:00 and ended up getting here at 9:20 so it was about a 20 minute add on to my drive which is already a 45-minute drive,” said Carter.

The closure is also impacting drivers going northbound.

“People were turning around and not wanting to deal with the traffic jam,” said Carter. "When everyone is trying to take the same exit and stop at the same light it adds a lot of time to the drive”.

We asked Tiller how long will this detour inconvenience driver?

He said that’s a hard question to answer.

“Our bridge engineer actually said this was one of the most severe hits he’s ever seen on a bridge of this kind,” said Tiller.

INDOT is currently waiting to get in lighter equipment so that they can assess all the damage safely.

Once that is done Tiller says they will have a better timeline of how long construction will take.

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