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Road salt may be factor in bridge collapse

SOUTH STRABANE, Pa., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Engineers believe a combination of age, wear and tear and possibly a recent hit from a truck sent a heavy bridge beam down on a western Pennsylvania highway.

Gary Hoffmann, an engineer with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette road salt almost certainly played a part.

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The beam, which is 53 feet long and weighs 60 tons, came crashing down from an overpass over I-70 in South Strabane on Tuesday. The highway was closed in both directions for several hours and westbound until Wednesday evening, causing massive traffic jams.

The only injuries were minor. A woman and her two children were injured when their minivan struck the beam, and two people in a second car were also hurt.

The overpass is almost 50 years old and was reaching the end of its life, engineers said.

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