A truck driver has had a lucky escape after a bridge in south-west Victoria collapsed as he was driving over it.

Kevin Ferrari was driving along the Gellibrand River Road near Chapple Vale in the Otways when the bridge gave way.

Mr Ferrari was uninjured, but he said his truck suffered at least $1000 damage when the pylons of the bridge broke and collapsed into the Gellibrand River.

“I was practically across the road when I heard a bang and then the truck dropped down and rolled backwards for over a metre,” Mr Ferrari said.

“I opened the door and had to get on my hands and knees and crawl up the concrete slab because of the angle of the truck.”

He said part of the bridge pushed against the back of the truck, stopping it from rolling further into the river.

“The pylons have absolutely disintegrated as if you were trying to move an old rotten log that has been on the ground for years,” Mr Ferrari said.

“[The bridge has] had issues off-and-on all the time.

“[Corangamite Shire] looked at it three or four months ago and marked some of the pylons.”

The truck has been removed and the road is closed to traffic.

Shire was ‘watching’ bridge

Corangamite Shire Council’s director of works and services Brooke Love said the council had “been watching” the bridge after a routine condition assessment flagged it as needing a more detailed review by an independent contractor.

Ms Love said the council was “in the process of organising this independent review” when the collapse happened.

She said an engineering report was being carried out on the bridge.

The bridge had no weight limits. Ms Love said that would also be reviewed.

-ABC