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Stuck truck clogs traffic in Lake Zurich

Traffic backed up late Monday morning on southbound Route 12 in Lake Zurich after a truck carrying a piece of equipment got stuck beneath a railroad overpass.

A truck pulling a flatbed trailer was carrying a rough terrain forklift, similar to a "cherry picker," on Route 12 at the CN railroad overpass south and east of Ela Road when the arm of the cargo got stuck.

"It struck the overpass and became wedged," Lake Zurich police Cmdr. Dave Bradstreet said. The truck could not be driven from the scene because of damage, he said.

No one was injured.

Traffic heading south was reduced to one lane around the stuck vehicle but was flowing freely heading north. Lanes in both directions were closed and traffic rerouted for a total of about 15 minutes when the truck was removed and when the first train passed overhead, Bradstreet said.

"It damaged one of the beams of the overpass. CN railroad came out, made a fix and cleaned up the debris and everything was open," by 2:15 p.m., according to Bradstreet. The former EJ&E line does not carry commuter rail traffic, according to a railroad spokesman. The former EJ&E line does not carry commuter rail traffic, according to a railroad spokesman. He said CN crews responded to do some repairs to the bridge, including removing some damaged concrete on the exterior of the bridge. Following the removal of the truck and repairs, the bridge was inspected and was determined to be safe for normal railroad operations.

Bradstreet said three trains used the overpass without incident while police were at the scene. "It's structurally sound. Trains can go over it, traffic can go under it. It's good to go," he said.

He said the truck was en route from Winnepeg, Manitoba, to Bradford, Pa.

No tickets were immediately issued but were expected to forthcoming, Bradstreet said.

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