Giant wind turbine blade winds up on highway after truck hits Maine bridge

Officials said the massive blade would have to remain on the side of Route 1 until Saturday morning.

A tractor trailer transporting a windmill blade to Columbia, Maine, collided with the railroad bridge that crosses over Route 1 in Stockton Springs, Maine. The collision caused both the tractor and trailer hauling the blade to overturn shutting down Route 1.

A tractor-trailer hauling an enormous turbine blade overturned on Route 1 in Maine early Friday after striking a railroad bridge, Maine State Police announced.

The accident happened around 5:30 a.m. in Stockton Springs, as the tractor-trailer carried the sprawling 240-foot blade to a wind project in Columbia.

Police said the tractor-trailer wasn’t far enough into the left lane when it crossed under the bridge.

The blade, mounted on large brackets, struck the bridge’s trestle, causing the rollover, according to officials. There were no injuries, but the bridge sustained minor damage, according to police.

Maine State Police shared images of the scene on social media. One photo showed the overturned tractor-trailer with an “oversize load” sign. Another picture shows a crane attempting to lift the massive blade from the roadway.

On Friday, August 9, 2024, at approximately 5:30 am, a tractor trailer transporting a windmill blade to Columbia, Maine collided with the railroad bridge that crosses over Rt. 1 in Stockton Springs. The collision caused both the tractor and trailer hauling the blade to overturn… pic.twitter.com/PfZmmq6box

— Maine State Police (@MEStatePolice) August 9, 2024

Crews shut down the road and rerouted traffic from the bridge to 174A to 1A and back to Route 1 while officials worked to clear the roadway. State police said turning the vehicle around wasn’t an option due to the blade’s length. Instead, crews devised a plan to load it onto another trailer and reverse it back to Searsport.

Police gave an update at 4:30 p.m. Friday saying the blade had been transferred to another trailer and would sit on the side of Route 1 for the rest of the night. Route 1 has re-opened to traffic, but closed briefly Saturday morning for the blade’s final transfer.

The Maine Department of Transportation, the Stockton Springs Fire Department, the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office, and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection responded to the accident.