Crews with jack hammers from Mid-State Construction Company of Livingston worked Friday on the Veterans Memorial Bridge repair project. Drivers might have noticed the lane closures going both ways on Highway 70, down from two lanes to one, which will last until repairs are completed sometime in October.
The bridge has been the victim of several height-related mishaps over the last 15 months and has been closed to traffic passing over the bridge since June 2016. Since it closed, it was struck two more times.
According Smithville city officials, all the accidents were failure to heed the posted clearance, marked at 13 feet, 10 inches. The average height of a tractor-trailer in the U.S. is 13 feet, 6 inches. It is the responsibility of the vehicles driver to know the height of their vehicle, but when things do go wrong, a common term in the trucking industry for striking a bridge is “under blunder.”
While the bridge is being returned to serviceability at a cost of $222,894.68, the height of the bridge will not be changed.
According to the DOT, the specific standards for vertical clearance adopted for the Interstate System maintain its integrity for national defense purposes. On interstates, the clear height of structures shall not be less than 16 feet (4.9 meters) over the entire roadway width, including the useable width of shoulder.
In urban areas, the 16-foot (4.9-meter) clearance shall apply to at least a single routing. On other urban Interstate routes, the clear height shall not be less than 14 feet (4.3 meters).
A design exception is required if this standard is not met. Exceptions on the interstate must also be coordinated with the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command Transportation Engi-neering Agency of the Department of Defense.
Motorists are advised to use caution due to the lane closures and repair personnel being in the area during the course of the repairs.