Photo: The Canadian Press

A reeve in eastern Saskatchewan says no geotechnical investigation was performed on a riverbed where a newly built bridge collapsed only hours after opening.

The Dyck Memorial Bridge in the Rural Municipality of Clayton opened to traffic on Sept. 14.

But part of the deck collapsed into the Swan River below later that day.

David Elwood, a University of Saskatchewan professor specializing in geotechnical engineering, says it's odd to him that the ground was not analyzed before the bridge pilings were driven.

But Clayton Reeve Duane Hicks says he has checked with other engineering companies and they said they don't do geotech investigations on these types of projects.

Hicks says he was told by the other companies that bid on the project that they wouldn't have done anything differently than the contractor who built the bridge.