A truck carrying a heavy counterweight without a proper permit struck the H-1 Freeway's Gulick Overpass this morning, temporarily disrupting east-bound traffic.

Engineers with the state Department of Transportation determined that the overpass is structurally sound, said Scott Ishikawa, DOT spokesman.

Honolulu police cited the driver of the Island Topsoil Service truck for not having a DOT permit to carry the counterweight, which is used to balance a truck's load, Ishikawa said.

The top of the counterweight sat 6 inches above the 14-foot, 3-inch height of the Gulick Overpass, Ishikawa said.

The driver hit the overpass with such force that it bent the steel counterweight, Ishikawa said.

Police temporarily closed the right-hand lane of the H-1 Freeway to allow DOT officials to photograph the damage to the overpass, which left bits of debris on the freeway below, Ishikawa said, and to move the truck to the side of the road.

The accident occurred shortly before 9:30 a.m.

"We won't allow him to move the equipment until he lowers the height of the equipment," Ishikawa said. "He'll have to move it to a different trailer because there's no way he's going to fit under the other overpasses."

In September 2006, an Army truck damaged the 'Aiea pedestrian overpass, shutting down all six lanes of the H-1 in the 'ewa-bound direction and causing gridlock across the island.

The accident caused about $700,000 in damage to the overpass and to four freeway signs and their lighting systems that the driver hit before crashing into the overpass.

The repairs were concluded in the last few weeks and DOT officials will send a claim for the repairs to the Army by the end of this month, Ishikawa said.

He reminded commercial truck drivers today that they need to get proper permits from the DOT's highway district office in Mapunapuna.

On Wednesday, a driver spilled 300 gallons of house paint on the Waipahu off-ramp of the west-bound H-1 Freeway, which took four hours to clean up.

"They have a responsibility to the public to make sure their load is properly registered and properly secured so we don't have these kinds of things happening," Ishikawa said. "We're not giving out permits for the sake of giving out permits. We need to make sure their loads are secure and help them map out proper routes."