Traffic along Ford Rd in Shepparton was disrupted for more than two hours on Monday after a prime mover lost its trailer in the middle of the road.
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Shepparton's Susie Daniel, whose property backs onto Ford Rd, said she heard a loud crash at her back fence just after 3 pm.
Thinking the noise was from a vehicle collision she ran outside to see a prime mover had lost its trailer on Ford Rd between the Verney Rd roundabout and Matilda Dve.
“I was just thankful it happened on that side of the road where the empty paddock was — on the other side of the Verney Rd roundabout that’s where the houses are right up against their fences and that’s where the footpath is,” Ms Daniel said.
“There is people, families and kids walking and riding their bikes on that footpath all the time so thank God it happened where it did — it could have been a lot worse.”
Shepparton Highway Patrol Senior Constable Darren Smith said he was called to the incident about 3 pm.
He said the truck had just left a property about 500 m away on Verney Rd, turning left onto Ford Rd when the trailer detached.
“The driver believes he connected it correctly and did all the checks he needed to do ... he left the address and for unknown reasons the trailer dropped off,” Sen Const Smith said.
Two cranes were needed to lift the trailer from the middle of the road back onto the prime mover's turntable, an operation which Sen Const Smith said took about two-and-a-half hours to complete.
During this time traffic in the area was diverted back towards Verney Rd or west along Ford Rd, which Ms Daniel said caused a huge traffic jam before police brought it under control.
Sen Const Smith said this section of Ford Rd had been used by trucks for many years with multiple orchards and businesses located in the area.
Despite this, Ms Daniel — a spokesperson for the Ford Road Action Group — said she had seen an increase in the amount of trucks using Ford Rd since roadworks started along Old Dookie Rd last year.
For many years the action group has been campaigning against plans for Ford Rd and Wanganui Rd to become an east-west connector for the Shepparton bypass.
With the proposed plan set to see a huge increase in the amount of trucks travelling along Ford Rd, Ms Daniel said Monday's incident and the traffic congestion it caused reflected one of the many concerns held by the group.
“It's a very busy road as it is, it banks up at peak school times because there are so many schools in the area."
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