A transport truck was nearly knocked off of Cape Breton’s Seal Island Bridge Sunday afternoon.

Cpl. Jennifer Clarke of Nova Scotia RCMP believes high winds may have knocked the truck onto its side.

The driver’s side door remained dangling over the 125-foot drop for several hours as crews worked to move it.

"I called 911 and I headed right down, and the driver was just getting out," said Chief Wayne Jardine of the Brad D’Or Volunteer Department.

Jardine said the driver likely got out through the passenger door. He escaped without serious injuries.

"He flew right in the air, he told me,” Jardine said. “He was lucky there, too, that he was in the middle of the bridge. Those vertical posts might have held him from going right over."

Traffic on the bridge has been reduced to one lane. The bridge closed to high-sided vehicles on Sunday but it reopened to high-sided vehicle Monday morning. Traffic is being escorted across.

Gusts between 90 and 120 kilometres per hour caused havoc elsewhere in Cape Breton. Winds were especially strong by the water in Glace Bay.

Powerlines were down just blocks away, causing some streets to be closed for most of the afternoon.

"A high-voltage powerline that burned off, it fell down on the ground,” said Chief John Chant. “A lot of arcing caused a major power outage in this area."

As many as 2,800 Nova Scotia Power customers were in the dark at some point on Sunday, many in Cape Breton.

So far, there have been no reports of serious damage.

After the close call on the Seal Island Bridge, some are wondering if it should be closed to high-sided vehicles all day during when high winds hit the region.

"Certain wind conditions, there should be lights there or some warning to let tractor trailers that are not loaded know not to enter, because once you get on the bridge, it's too late then," said Jardine.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ryan MacDonald.