many years of service left
Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was among the first drivers to stop at the scene, the team said. Stafford, who was on his way to the team's practice facility in Allen to prepare for Sunday's road game against the New York Jets, was picked up by team security.
Traffic was being forced off the freeway in both directions, officials said. The Michigan Department of Transportation said crews hope to be able to clear the bridge from the roadway and reopen the freeway after police complete their on-scene investigation Friday.
At freeway speeds, "momentum is enough to take down the bridge" when hit by a truck, Shaw said.
MDOT spokeswoman Diane Cross said she didn't immediately know the age of the bridge, but said it wasn't replaced when the freeway was rebuilt in 2009.
"It still had many years of service left," she said of the bridge. "It's only down because a truck pulled it down."
