They Painted the Bridge Bright Green and added about 50 signs

[jeff of pa]

Have the Road painted with Warnings.
Signs a mile & more Away,
and Still they don't know
what 11' 8" means



No. 6 hits bridge

08/21/2007
CRESSONA — Oops, it happened again.

On Monday afternoon, a USA Truck tractor-trailer became the sixth vehicle this year to get stuck in the railroad underpass on Sillyman Street, Route 183.

The incident occurred around 1:15 p.m. as the truck, driven by Leo Conklin, Fairmount, N.C., was traveling south on Route 183. The cab of the 18-wheeler cleared the overpass, but the 13-foot, 6-inch trailer became wedged under the bridge, squashed like a bar of cream cheese.

“Here’s a 13-foot, 6-inch truck trying to fit under an 11-foot, 8-inch bridge — it doesn’t work that way,” Cressona Fire Department Chief Engineer Bob Kramer said. “It’s the laws of physics.”

No one was injured in the crash. Conklin made no comment, but state police at Schuylkill Haven said he told them he was unfamiliar with the route and the bridge.

State police estimated Conklin was traveling at 35 or 40 mph. The posted speed limit on the road is 25 mph.

Trooper Kirk A. Kirkland said Conklin would be cited for traffic violations, although he did not specify what the violations were.

Conklin left the scene with a representative from USA Truck, which is based in Van Buren, Ark., to undergo a blood test.

The impact and pressure of the crash caused the back of the trailer to split from the sides in some places. Cans of Chef Boyardee, the truck’s cargo, littered the ground along with pieces of metal and glass.

“We’re going to have to cut the back of the trailer out, completely unload it and tow it out,” Kramer said.

Traffic was redirected around the bridge while members of Cressona Fire Company No. 1, Schuylkill Haven fire police, borough crew and workers from Hammer’s Towing, Minersville, used a blowtorch and tow truck to pry the back door off the trailer so it could be unloaded before being towed.

Borough officials said Monday night the truck was removed and the road reopened around 5 p.m.

Although this is the sixth time this year a vehicle has gotten stuck under the low bridge, owned by Blue Mountain, Reading & Northern Railroad, Bob Smith of Cressona Fire Company No. 1 said there have been fewer incidents so far than last year at this time.

According REPUBLICAN & Herald reports, there were 22 incidents at the bridge in 2006.

 

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[BobPA]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

Looks like Mr.Conklin needs to read road signs. Either that or he might be from the "Show Me State."
Bob

 

[Rubicon]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

Looks like they named the road correctly.

 

[ivan salis]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

need idiot picture -type signs---I guess ---

 

[stefen]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

Most people have no conception of measurements...

The bridge is an obvious example...

Now this trout is actually 12 inches long (minnow)

 

[irbaddadjoe]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

Hang on to him stefen! I'll get the net..........

 

[stefen]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

Hang on to him stefen! I'll get the net..........

Oops!

Never mind.

 

[hollowpointred]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

haha theres a railroad bridge where i work that has been there since the friggin 1860s clearly marked 12' and every year at least two dopes run into that bridge with thier trucks! i guess they think the sign doesnt apply to them. :P

 

[savant365]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

He didn't get stuck, he was just hauling that bridge and thats where he ran out of fuel.

 

[Old Dog]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

I used to drive up and down a lot of on ramps because of those low bridges.

Some guys just think they can beat the odds.

LOL
OD

 

[pepperpump]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

I believe it.
Pepperpump

 

[Ascholten]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

Then again, how many of said truckers really have a clue about all the logistics of what they are hauling.

I got a truckload of boxes from toymart.
It weighs 50000 pounds, im under the 80k limit for the weigh stations so dont need to worry.

I got two full tanks of gas, and a dial that shows when they are low and need to refill.

when my stomach feels achy I need to pull over and eat.
when my eyes droop i need to pull over and sleep.

im good to go.


.... Aaron

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

They are up to #20 Now

CRESSONA — Kirk Washington’s “how’s my driving?” number was covered with duct tape, but he was forced to discuss his driving skills with police Thursday when his rig became the 20th this year to get stuck at the underpass on Sillyman Street.


Washington had no comment for a REPUBLICAN & Herald reporter on the sticky situation.

“That’s the handyman’s secret weapon right there — duct tape,” John Woleschok, Cressona fire chief, said.

According to state police at Schuylkill Haven, Washington was traveling north on Route 183 to Kaytee Products Inc., Cressona, at about 2:15 p.m. when he got caught under the bridge, bringing the truck to a screeching halt. Washington works for Swift Transportation Co. and was coming from a station in Wisconsin.

“Obviously, this isn’t someone from the area,” Trooper John D. Powis said. “The fluorescent green (paint) didn’t work this time.”

Following a similar accident in August, the owners of the bridge, Blue Mountain, Reading & Northern Railroad, painted the top of the bridge bright green — with a yellow warning sign above it. Tractor-trailers over 11 feet 8 inches can’t make it through.

Police said they weren’t sure of the size of Washington’s truck, but said a 13-foot truck got stuck last week.

“They (the truck drivers) read them (the signs) too much and they just think they can make it through,” Woleschok said. “Usually we can have them out of here in about an hour.”

Woleschok said Washington will probably face a fine of about $800.

Traffic heading north was diverted to Route 901. Southbound traffic took what should have been the truck’s route: Wilder Street.

Schuylkill Haven Fire Police were also on the scene. Trail Towing, Pottsville, assisted in freeing the truck.​

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19029742&BRD=2626&PAG=461&dept_id=532624&rfi=6

 

[PBK]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

Maybe they need to lower the road... :P

 

[syko]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

Maybe they should stop having a sign that says 11'8" up to bottom of sign,
if you look closely..the rest of the bridge hangs lower...so the clearance to the ground is only about 6'2"...
:P

those guys down below are midgets

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

#21

WOMAN DRIVER Finds the Way Through.

"The impact made a horrible cracking sound, Schaal said. But instead of stopping, “I floored it,” she said."

CRESSONA — A Utah woman transporting a load of flammable powder sometimes used to fuel the space shuttle lost her way Tuesday afternoon and became the 21st trucker this year to hit the Sillyman Street underpass, according to state police at Schuylkill Haven.

But she was the first to make it through.

The driver, Lulah Schaal, 58, of Orem, Utah, forced the 13-foot-6-inch tall trailer, owned by Crete Carrier Corp., Lincoln, Neb., all the way through the 11-foot-8-inch underpass.

Its roof was stripped off like the lid of a sardine can and resembled an accordion.

While none of the 72 55-gallon drums of the Alcoa-brand atomized aluminum powder spilled, two of the lids popped off, said John M. Matz, operations officer for Schuylkill County Emergency Management, who called in Environmental Products, Harrisburg, to secure them.

The powder is considered to be biologically inert, according to the product’s Material Safety Data Sheet, provided by Alcoa Inc.

But since it’s flammable, it can cause dangerous conditions if it’s mixed in air, where a spark or cigarette could ignite it.

“Dust clouds may be explosive. Even a minor dust cloud can explode violently,” according to the MSDA.

If the dust makes contact with water, the mixture will generate flammable hydrogen gas. “These gases could present an explosion hazard in confined or poorly ventilated spaces,” according to the MSDA.

While none of this material found its way into local streams, Ronald G. Ruman, information specialist with the state Department of Environmental Protection, Harrisburg, said he doubted it would cause a hazard even if it did.

“The dissolution factor is very high to the point where it wouldn’t be an issue,” Ruman said.

Schaal said she’d been driving a truck for 11 years and had never been in a major accident. She said she was confused because she was lost and saw the flashing signs, but failed to heed the warning. She said all tractor-trailers should be rerouted away from the train tressel.

“There should be a sign there which says ‘No trucks,’ ” she said.

She was heading south on Route 183 through the borough, police said. Schaal said she had driven her cargo from Texas to deliver it to Fanelli Brothers Trucking, Pottsville, but had gotten lost on Route 901 outside Minersville. Unfamiliar with the area, she turned south onto Gordon Nagle Trail and drove into Cressona.

As she approached the underpass, she said she saw the flashing height-restriction sign, but said she was too worried about finding her way to give it much thought.

“We’re always dealing with a lot of numbers. I saw that sign and thought ‘Oh, I can make that,’ ” she said.

The impact made a horrible cracking sound, Schaal said. But instead of stopping, “I floored it,” she said.

She forced the trailer through, ripping its metal exterior and cracking the trailer’s plywood structural frame in the process.

This caused severe damage to the trailer, which was towed, and moderate damage to the cab, which was detached and driven from the scene, police said.

“I think it’s the first truck I saw to make it all the way through,” said Trooper Kirk A. Kirkland of the Schuylkill Haven station.

Kevin A. Connors, Cressona, a volunteer with Cressona Fire Company No. 1, said the same thing.

“I just didn’t want to get stuck. I think that’s worse, to just get stuck, you know?” Schaal said.

Police charged Schaal with failing to observe traffic control devices and will file the paperwork in the office of Magisterial District Judge James R. Ferrier.

Firefighters from Cressona Fire Company No. 1 and Schuylkill Hose No. 2 responded and blocked the scene to traffic, while Schuylkill County Emergency Management contacted Alcoa Inc. about the truck’s cargo.

Kevin G. Lowery, Alcoa director of corporate communications, Pittsburgh, said he provided the product’s Material Safety Data Sheet, containing extensive information about the aluminum powder, its properties and hazards.

“It’s used for helping to make paint. One of the uses is for fuel to the space shuttle. It helps put it up into space. It’s part of the propulsion system, and it is flammable,” Lowery said.

Traffic was rerouted for more than five hours as the scene was cleared, according to Trooper Todd W. Heintz of the Schuylkill Haven barracks.

Representatives of Environmental Products unloaded the drums from the wreckage onto another vehicle, and the scene was cleared around 6 p.m., Heintz said.

Tuesday’s incident was the second tractor-trailer to get stuck under the bridge in less than a week. On Thursday, a driver for Swift Transportation Co. got his rig lodged at the underpass around 2 p.m.

 

[Evolution]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

The height signs don't help. The signs needs to say "Hey idiot, Turn The Freakin Truck Around, Unless It's A Fuel Truck, In Which Case Please Continue Because This Is What God Refers To As Natural Selection"............I guess you'd need a pretty big sign to have all of that on it.

 

[syko]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

"Sillyman Street underpass"
now it's also the Sillywoman Street underpass....
yeah...corny...

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: They Painted the Bridge Bright Green

3 this year so far , Now this.


Think it's big Enough ? I think it needs to be Mounted On the road
blocking the Bridge.

Signs meant to steer trucks from bridge

CRESSONA — New and improved signs are being placed along Route 183 in the latest step to keep trucks from hitting the Sillyman Street railroad bridge.

PennDOT crews began installing about 50 signs — some posts with more than one sign — Wednesday morning and are hoping to have the job done by Friday afternoon, weather permitting.

The Sillyman Street railroad bridge — with a clearance of 11 feet 8 inches — has snagged more than 40 trucks since 2006, including at least three this year. Following a February public meeting concerning the bridge, PennDOT officials chose four options to keep truckers from being jammed under the bridge, including re-signing the area.


http://www.republicanherald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19470604&BRD=2626&PAG=461&dept_id=529074&rfi=6

I wonder if they started a poll on when the next one misses the signs

 

[jeff of pa]

The signs don’t help if drivers can’t read them.



Nearly two months after the installation of signs meant to keep trucks from getting stuck at the Sillyman Street railroad bridge, a Chinese food delivery truck — driven by a man who doesn’t speak English — got stuck under the bridge at about 3:20 p.m. Monday.

“They don’t understand English too well and couldn’t read the signs,” Kevin Connors, first assistant engineer with Cressona Fire Company, said at the scene. “Smash.”

Trooper Dave Beam, of state police at Schuylkill Haven, said the truck was traveling on Route 183 from Discount Markets, Reading, and delivering Chinese food to several local restaurants.

In early April, PennDOT crews began installing about 50 signs warning trucks over 11 feet 8 inches to stay out, following more than 40 similar accidents since 2006.

The Discount Markets truck, driven by Chao Jiang, became at least the fourth this year to get stuck.

Beam said Jiang has a New York driver’s license, but spoke poor English.

His passenger, who police did not name, was slightly more fluent.

“The one guy isn’t too bad, but the other one, he can’t even understand what you’re saying,” Beam said. “I had to ask him five times to let the air out of his back tires. They speak Chinese.”

At about 3:45 p.m., Jiang was letting the air out of each of the truck’s tires, hoping to bring it down a few inches.

Other state troopers on scene said they were dealing with hundreds of vehicles forced onto detours because of the crash.

“It’s Memorial Day. We need to get this road open,” one trooper said at the scene, adding he diverted “probably 200” cars in the first 20 minutes after the crash because of heavy holiday traffic.

By about 4 p.m., police said the truck had been freed and Route 183 was back open to traffic.

Following a February public meeting concerning the bridge and its penchant for stuck trucks, PennDOT officials chose four options to keep truckers from being jammed under the bridge, including re-signing the area.

http://www.republicanherald.com/art...20080527.a.pg1.pr27bridge_s1.1707269_top2.txt