Bad Day

Gordy

When you are young, and invincible..."you think". You don't realise or think about alot of things that can create dangerous situations. As you get older, and witness more incidents. You start to understand.


1.How fast things fall.
2.How slow your reflexes really are.
3.How even brand new things fail.
4.How hard you hit the ground from the smallest of heights.
5.How stupid things other people do, can directly effect the out come of your safety.
6.How other people don't realise they are doing stupid things that have an effect on other peoples safety.


Feel free to add to the list.


Gordy

Gordy

Oppps!

When you think you are having a BAD day, someone else is having one to top yours. I could not picture calling the boss on this one. Hope they have good insurance. The backhoe, and Lo boy will be pennies compared to fixing that bridge.....scratch fixing I think a new one will be in order.

Would have liked to seen the extraction procedure for the hoe.

Gordy

David Sutton_6

Speachless.......

witch is not a east thing for me LOL....

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DanHolohan

Here's more:

Snopes

Gordy

Thanks

Thanks Dan, The pictures were emailed from an engineer with no info attatched.

Being in the bridge construction industry, I can easily say the 134,000 dollar "estimate" won't be close in the end.

If you analyze the picture, how many times do you see a crawler backhoe hauled with the boom to the front of the trailer? If the hoe would have been loaded with the boom aft on the trailer as usual, the boom would not have shot up through the bridge deck, although damage would have still resulted.

I would go as far as to say that this is why the load was over height. Loading the hoe with the boom to the front does not allow the boom to be lowered fully, "clearance from the cab of the semi".

Gordy

Unknown

oohhh that's bad...

That reminded me of the brigde got damaged by the rear semi truck dumper was partly up in the air. The brigde was closed for 8 months for repair and only to be reopened for 3 months and closed to tear down the rebuilt bridge for new 4 lanes overpass... The goverment way... Spent 10 to make 5....

Cosmo_3

holy cow!!!!

I have never seen anything like that!!! I would not have believed it was possible. It always amazes me how easily concrete can sometimes be poked through like that...

I bet that driver had a brown spot in his trousers after he realized what happened!!!


Cosmo

Constantin

I couldn't believe that number either...

... seems much too low given the amount of work ahead to stitch that bridge back together. Maybe that was a by the foot calculation?

Charles G.

Question

So what make of backhoe is that? Must be a pretty sturdy piece of equipment...

Gordy

RE Question

Velocity plus Mass.....An object does not have to be that sturdy when velocity, and mass is behind it. I would say the back hoe is pretty much junk.

That truck driver probably felt a mild jolt as the 2" king pin on the trailer sheared off.
Gordy

Dave Yates (PAH)

I wish

I was smart enough to be able to figure out the answers in Dan's link! Hard to imaging travelling at Interstate speeds and coming to a halt in such a short distance. Imagine you'd been crossing the bridge when that appeared!

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Kevin O. Pulver

Loss of Innocence...

Remember when you were a kid and roller coasters didn't scare you- because you had complete faith in them and no idea what all could go wrong? Well, a little engineering knowledge, and a few things like this in the back of your mind could sure make a guy nervous. After reading Dave's post, I don't think I'll ever cross an overpass without wondering... Kevin

Gordy

Lochness monster

Kinda would be the same effect as a witness to a Lochness monster siting.

I have seen my share of low bridge collisions, while in the midst of constructing them. Some drivers do not even realise they hit, and just keep on going. Had one driver peel 12 feet of the top of his van trailer back like a sardine can. Never even stopped. The Kodak moment when he got out of his rig when he hit his destination, and saw the damage would have been priceless.

Another incident a driver hauling a shipping container hit the old half of the bridge so hard it pushed the diaphram through the web of the beam. Funny thing is he must have known it was going to be a tight fit, and put the coals to it right before he hit. I guess once you exceed stopping distance its worth a try to squeak on through.

Replaced a pedestrian bridge that a semi car hauler hit when he pulled out of the dealership down the road and his rack was not down. Launched two brand new vehicles up over the top of the bridge luckily no one was walking across at that point, and time.

Gordy

Ron Schroeder

As a teanger walking home from school

two tractors pulling two halves of a prebuilt house down I95, they stopped and guided one another under this overpass, the first guy makes it fine. The first driver gets out to guide the second, he is watching the low side of the roof line on the house against the high side of the bridge arch. I am one overpass south of them watching and can see it all coming as the trailer gets half way under the watchman gives the big wave forward, driver two guns it. Rear of trailer sits higher than the front and once the wheels had cleared bamm, the trailer jams under the bridge. Driver 2 gets out with a bloody nose and two seconds later driver 1 had one to match. Just glad I was far enough away not to be endanderd due to my laughing.