Falling debris near overpass forces emergency shutdown of major Montreal highway

MONTREAL – Falling debris near an overpass has prompted an emergency shutdown of a major Montreal highway.

Police say a section of Highway 40 was closed in the city’s west-end today after a passing vehicle was struck by an object.

Provincial police spokesman Gino Pare says several other vehicles also sustained damage, including punctured tires, after they drove over fragments on the road.

Officials say that no injuries have been reported.

The provincial Transport Department is investigating the incident to determine whether the debris that fell near the overpass at Henri-Bourassa Boulevard was a piece of concrete, a chunk of ice, part of a load off the back of a truck or something else.

The state of Quebec’s crumbling road infrastructure has been of particular public concern since a highway overpass in Laval collapsed in September 2006, killing five people.