The state is asking the owner of the vehicle that sheared off a 30-foot section of the Aiea pedestrian overpass on Tuesday to pay for the repairs.
The preliminary estimate for the cost of the work is between $200,000 and $300,000, said Department of Transportation spokeswoman Caroline Sluyter. The repairs may take months, perhaps less if the state can get an emergency procurement for the job, she said.
Tibbitts Trucking could also be fined for failing to obtain a permit from the department for hauling a forklift on a dump truck trailer with a height greater than 14 feet, Sluyter said. Tibbitts made no such request, she said.
The agency is working with the police department, which is conducting a motor vehicle collision investigation, she said.
The crash happened about noon Tuesday. The bridge passes over Moanalua Road, where Moanalua freeway westbound exits into Aiea, and Kamehameha Highway, where motorists enter the freeway. It connects Aloha Stadium with Aiea Elementary School and the Aiea residential area.
No one was injured, although a key portion of the Moanalua/H-1 freeway interchange was shut down until about 4:25 p.m.
But the crash has long-term implications. About 50 students at Aiea Elementary use the overpass to get to and from school. Many people also use the bridge to get to the stadium and Aiea and back.
"DOT is in the process of contacting the trucking company to let them know they will be responsible for the repair cost," Sluyter said.
A man answering Tibbitts’ business phone would not comment, saying he was instructed by his insurance company to remain silent.
Tibbitts has "a pretty good record," Sluyter said. It has a few "minor infractions" outstanding, which may involve things such as a taillamp.
"Not major safety violations," she said.
Sluyter emphasized that the repair estimate is preliminary since engineers are still determining whether only the damaged section or the entire bridge needs to be replaced.
The $200,000-$300,000 figure was based on the cost of replacing a section of an H-1 overpass, also in Aiea, that was damaged when a military truck struck it in 2006. The military paid about $500,000 for that repair, Sluyter said, and the section taken out Tuesday is smaller.
