Trucking company fined for strike of George Massey Tunnel ceiling

The trucking company whose vehicle struck and damaged the ceiling of the George Massey Tunnel last month was fined $2,371 and had its fleet of 20 trucks suspended for more than a week, according to RCMP.

The collision happened midspan on Jan. 10. The tunnel, which is part of Highway 99 and links Richmond and Delta under the Fraser River, had to be closed for safety inspections, causing a widespread traffic snarl. 

The driver of the TSD Holdings Ltd. vehicle and trailer did not stop, according to police. He was later identified through public dashcam video as a 30-year-old Surrey man and issued a ticket for failing to remain at the scene of a collision.

TSD Holdings was required to submit a plan for safe transport of oversized loads to the Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement unit of B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation. The company's suspension was lifted on Jan. 19.

The province said earlier that the tunnel was not significantly damaged. CBC News has reached out to TSD Holdings for comment.

The province says there has been three bridge or overpass strikes by commercial vehicles this year. There were 17 overpass strikes in 2023 and 31 since December 2021. 

Trucking company International Machine Transport Inc. of Abbotsford was issued an immediate fleet suspension on Jan. 16 after a helicopter being carried on a flatbed hit a sign hanging from the Gilmore Avenue overpass of Highway 1 in Burnaby.

In December, Chohan Freight Forwarders Ltd. had its operation licence pulled after a truck carrying large steel girders hit and damaged the 112th Street overpass on Highway 99 in Delta.

And in September, the driver of a Whistler Courier and Freightways' container truck fled the scene after smashing the truck into a Highway 1 overpass in North Vancouver. The province suspended the company's 21 vehicles for eight days and issued a fine of $3,500. The driver has yet to be found.