A small tractor clearing snow on a New Jersey footbridge Monday plunged through the concrete walkway, crashing onto a van traveling below and sending three people to the hospital, police said.

The path of the “fully operational” bridge over Route 208 in Hawthorne crumbled under the Bobcat tractor’s weight at around 11 a.m., said Police Capt. Jeffrey Vanderhook.

The tractor landed on the roof of the van, which was marked Hawthorne Mechanical ­Contractors.

The impact crushed the front passenger side of the van, injuring and hospitalizing two passengers inside. The tractor’s driver also was hospitalized.

None of the injured people was immediately identified, and their conditions remained unclear.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation owns the pedestrian bridge.

DOT spokesman Steve Schapiro told northjersey.com that the bridge wasn’t built to withstand the tractor’s weight, saying pedestrian footbridges “are not designed to carry vehicles.”

Passaic County is responsible for all maintenance and upkeep of the bridge, including snow clearing, Schapiro said.

“The bridge has been closed, and NJDOT engineers are evaluating the structure,” Schapiro said. “At this time, it is too early to speculate what might be necessary.”

The state DOT, New Jersey State Police, Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office and Hawthorne Police Department were all investigating the crash.