Another Crane Failed to Clear the Bridge

Bird · Jun 23, 2007

Yeah, the newspaper this morning tells about the bridge being closed, describes some of the damage, etc. but says nothing about the driver's condition. That does seem a bit strange. I sure hope he's OK, and that he has lots of good insurance.

Bird · Aug 9, 2007

The bridge has been closed since the accident on June 21, but this past week the city's website said TXDOT was supposed to start repairs Monday, the 13th, and have the bridge open again the first of September. I noticed the flashing signs along the northbound Interstate south of the bridge that say I-35E will be shut down from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. the 13th.

And I never did see anything in the news about the driver's condition.

coopers · Aug 10, 2007

Bird said:
Yeah, the newspaper this morning tells about the bridge being closed, describes some of the damage, etc. but says nothing about the driver's condition. That does seem a bit strange. I sure hope he's OK, and that he has lots of good insurance.

Don't they have a law down there that says you can't tell the public the condition of someone in the hospital? They do up here. I can't remember if that's our WA State law or a national law.

texasjohn · Aug 10, 2007

Several years ago, something similar happened at Jarrell TX (about 25 miles north of Austin). A large crane was going north on IH 35. The control seals were worn and the bucket arm started rising by itself.

When the arm hit the bridge, the pre-stressed beams fell and hit the road. One lady driving alongside the rig, hit the beam on the road. She sustained a few broken bones but fortunately was not killed.

It took the highway department several hours to clear the road and repave the area the beams hit the surface. The bridge was out for several months.

I copied the above from this site.
which chronicles other similar events.

I live 1 mile from the Jarrell overpass that was destroyed by the crane several years ago... bad deal. We hate it when Jarrell makes the national news.. it's either tornados, dropped overpass, or ice storms

Bird · Aug 10, 2007

coopers said:
Don't they have a law down there that says you can't tell the public the condition of someone in the hospital? They do up here. I can't remember if that's our WA State law or a national law.

The hospital won't give out any details without the permission of the patient, but they do frequently provide enough information to the news media to say whether a patient is critical, serious, stable, fair, or has been released. And the news media frequently states whether any charges have been filed or not. In this case, I haven't seen or heard anything about the driver, the company he worked for if there was one, etc.