oops!!!

gerard · 02-10-2002, 02:59 PM

We just had a nice accident investigation on one of the major interstates in the Syracuse area. Dump truck pulling a lowboy with a full size backhoe on it. The hoe, whichj is SUPPOSED to be lowered and chained, was in the pinned up position. Bridge heights are around 14 foot. Top of his boom, around 14ft 6 inches!! Hit the bridge so hard the front of the tractor raised up, stretching and breaking the binder chains! The bottom of the bridge I beam cut right through the cylinder shaft like a big shear and flattened the whole boom out blowing all the hydraulic seals. Gonna have some major work to get that baby up and running again, not to mention some serious welding on the bridge!!!

MikePA · 02-10-2002, 03:20 PM

I assume the hauler pays for the damage to the bridge?

Von · 02-10-2002, 03:59 PM

Last summer here in Rochester, NY we had a guy do the same thing except it was with a big excavater! Did over a million $ in damage to the bridge. The road is still closed, and they may have to replace the bridge.

gerard · 02-10-2002, 05:36 PM

yep, NYS you damage a bridge due to being overheight and you get the bill. No such thing as "minor" bridge damage!

njrqs · 02-10-2002, 08:10 PM

Oh boy

That is a serious oops indeed.

Remember a furniture truck getting stuck under a bridge here. They let the tyres down and out they came !!!

Bird · 02-10-2002, 08:41 PM

Neil, I saw that happen so many times I lost count in Dallas; the Continental Street underpass in particular. Seems like it used to be a common occurrence, and letting air out of the tires frequently works. Usually those trucks were going pretty slow and didn't hurt that railroad bridge much, but I'll never forget one time when a truck running about 45 mph hit a different railroad bridge in the middle of the night and really tore that truck up. It so happened that the truck driver had been running that route every night, so he knew his truck would fit under that bridge and didn't slow down. What he didn't know was that the new layer of asphalt they had put on that street that day was 2" thick.[img]/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif[/img] I guess his clearance in the past had sure been close.

MChalkley · 02-10-2002, 08:44 PM

gerard - Any pics from the local newpapers online? That would be worth seeing...

Jeff396 · 02-10-2002, 10:33 PM

I used to drive truck for Boston to Buffalo Express when I lived in Rochester in '84 and '85. I still remember the series of low overpasses (train if I remember right) that split the city in two. Man, what a pain! One time I went into one of the longer ones at which I carefully stopped to check my clearance. Everything went great until I got near the other end and heard a loud pop/[img]/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif[/img] Luckily for me not too much damage.

Another incident happened over near Rochester Products on Lexington Ave. I was following an Iveco straight truck who was heading for an overpass that I knew he wouldn't make. I kept hoping he'd realize it but sure enough....BAM!!!! That bridge opened that truck like a can opener. The rear door was now laying down in a horizontal position. I'm betting he was unemployed the next day. You just can't believe the stories you hear when you hang with truckers[img]/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Jeff

jhburke · 02-11-2002, 12:34 AM

A couple years ago I was sitting in a limo waiting for my clients return at a local hotel. It had a portico at the front entrance. I saw this Uhaul truck coming in and he was moving right along. He tried to go thru and he stuck it so hard he couldn't back out. The kicker is that the truck was full of furniture. He and his new bride was leaving the next morning. His bride was threating to kill him. I am sure it was an expensive start to a marriage. JIM

DONOTDELETE · 02-11-2002, 01:06 AM

I saw a similar occourance about five or six years ago on I-90 between Seattle and Spokane. After being held up and rerouted onto a frontage road I finally saw the culprit. It was a forklift on the back of a 40 ft flatbed trailer, it was a pretty big one I'm guessing about a 15,000 pound Hyster unit. I stopped for a look and it was pretty mutilated, the mast was bent and laying back onto the cab, the pins on the mast tilt cylinders were sheared off and the flatdeck trailer it was sitting on was sagging pretty bad. Just a real mess which I'm sure ended up being completely scrapped after the undamaged parts were stripped.

02-10-2002, 02:59 PM	#1 (permalink)
gerard Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Syracuse NY Posts: 1,200	oops!!! We just had a nice accident investigation on one of the major interstates in the Syracuse area. Dump truck pulling a lowboy with a full size backhoe on it. The hoe, whichj is SUPPOSED to be lowered and chained, was in the pinned up position. Bridge heights are around 14 foot. Top of his boom, around 14ft 6 inches!! Hit the bridge so hard the front of the tractor raised up, stretching and breaking the binder chains! The bottom of the bridge I beam cut right through the cylinder shaft like a big shear and flattened the whole boom out blowing all the hydraulic seals. Gonna have some major work to get that baby up and running again, not to mention some serious welding on the bridge!!!

02-10-2002, 03:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
MikePA Super Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 9,261	Re: oops!!! I assume the hauler pays for the damage to the bridge?

02-10-2002, 03:59 PM	#3 (permalink)
Von Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Western New York Posts: 1,532	Re: oops!!! Last summer here in Rochester, NY we had a guy do the same thing except it was with a big excavater! Did over a million $ in damage to the bridge. The road is still closed, and they may have to replace the bridge.

02-10-2002, 05:36 PM	#4 (permalink)
gerard Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Syracuse NY Posts: 1,200	Re: oops!!! yep, NYS you damage a bridge due to being overheight and you get the bill. No such thing as "minor" bridge damage!

02-10-2002, 08:10 PM	#5 (permalink)
njrqs Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 1,391	Re: oops!!! Oh boy That is a serious oops indeed. Remember a furniture truck getting stuck under a bridge here. They let the tyres down and out they came !!!

02-10-2002, 08:41 PM	#6 (permalink)
Bird Epic Contributor Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Corinth, TX, USA Posts: 22,398	Re: oops!!! Neil, I saw that happen so many times I lost count in Dallas; the Continental Street underpass in particular. Seems like it used to be a common occurrence, and letting air out of the tires frequently works. Usually those trucks were going pretty slow and didn't hurt that railroad bridge much, but I'll never forget one time when a truck running about 45 mph hit a different railroad bridge in the middle of the night and really tore that truck up. It so happened that the truck driver had been running that route every night, so he knew his truck would fit under that bridge and didn't slow down. What he didn't know was that the new layer of asphalt they had put on that street that day was 2" thick.[img]/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif[/img] I guess his clearance in the past had sure been close.

02-10-2002, 08:44 PM	#7 (permalink)
MChalkley Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Eastern Virginia Posts: 3,239	Re: oops!!! gerard - Any pics from the local newpapers online? That would be worth seeing...

02-10-2002, 10:33 PM	#8 (permalink)
Jeff396 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: South Carolina Posts: 1,132	Re: oops!!! I used to drive truck for Boston to Buffalo Express when I lived in Rochester in '84 and '85. I still remember the series of low overpasses (train if I remember right) that split the city in two. Man, what a pain! One time I went into one of the longer ones at which I carefully stopped to check my clearance. Everything went great until I got near the other end and heard a loud pop/[img]/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif[/img] Luckily for me not too much damage. Another incident happened over near Rochester Products on Lexington Ave. I was following an Iveco straight truck who was heading for an overpass that I knew he wouldn't make. I kept hoping he'd realize it but sure enough....BAM!!!! That bridge opened that truck like a can opener. The rear door was now laying down in a horizontal position. I'm betting he was unemployed the next day. You just can't believe the stories you hear when you hang with truckers[img]/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif[/img] Jeff

02-11-2002, 12:34 AM	#9 (permalink)
jhburke Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Vermilion County, IL Posts: 311	Re: oops!!! A couple years ago I was sitting in a limo waiting for my clients return at a local hotel. It had a portico at the front entrance. I saw this Uhaul truck coming in and he was moving right along. He tried to go thru and he stuck it so hard he couldn't back out. The kicker is that the truck was full of furniture. He and his new bride was leaving the next morning. His bride was threating to kill him. I am sure it was an expensive start to a marriage. JIM

02-11-2002, 01:06 AM	#10 (permalink)
DONOTDELETE New Member Join Date: Dec 1969 Posts: 0	Re: oops!!! I saw a similar occourance about five or six years ago on I-90 between Seattle and Spokane. After being held up and rerouted onto a frontage road I finally saw the culprit. It was a forklift on the back of a 40 ft flatbed trailer, it was a pretty big one I'm guessing about a 15,000 pound Hyster unit. I stopped for a look and it was pretty mutilated, the mast was bent and laying back onto the cab, the pins on the mast tilt cylinders were sheared off and the flatdeck trailer it was sitting on was sagging pretty bad. Just a real mess which I'm sure ended up being completely scrapped after the undamaged parts were stripped.

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