Pennsylvania’s Experience with OVERHEIGHT VEHICLE-BRIDGE IMPACTS (BRIDGE STRIKES) CTSO Working Group on Freight Operations WARNING OVERHEIGHT VEHICLES AHEAD Todd Trautz on behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Maintenance and Operations December 18, 2018
Agenda Background of PennDOT’s Efforts Research & Outreach Preventative Strategies Implementation Roundtable Discussion
Background Project purpose: Develop an educational/enforcement plan that targets at risk haulers Methodology: National best practice research Similar DOT Outreach Baseline PA’s bridge strikes Preventative Strategies Conducted Summer 2016
Background Bridge-vehicle impacts (bridge strikes) The Can Opener Bridge
Background Overheight Vehicle -2010 Washington County, Kammer Interchange – McIlvaine Road over I-70
Background More common… scrapes and gouges Landis Valley Road over US 222 Manheim Township, PA December 18, 2015 Estimated Cost to Repair: $565 K Estimated Economic Cost: $8.5 M
Background Impacts to traffic Delays Road User Liquidated Damages On-going impacts
Background PennDOT Project Goals: Develop a Best Practices Report to help reduce the number of bridge strikes throughout the Commonwealth Develop Public Materials to help improve awareness of impacts caused by bridge strikes Solicit feedback from stakeholders to improve current design and policy practices
Current PA Practice Current Pennsylvania Practices: No standard after-incident assessment of prevention devices Max height of vehicles without permit: 13’ - 6” Only require signs for bridges under 14’ - 6” Low Clearance Signs
Research & Outreach National & International Studies Not a high priority for many States FHWA is currently developing(?) a National Best Practices Guide (NTSB Recommendation H-14-8) that should be available to the public soon. National Studies: Maryland Study of Overheight Vehicle Collisions with Highway Bridges (2003) New York Bridge Vehicle Impact Report (2011) International Studies: International Union of Railways (2002) United Kingdom various Practice Guides (2012)
NTSB Recommendation H-14-8 Develop a best practices guide that the states can use to prevent bridge strikes by overheight vehicles. At a minimum, the guide should include (1) a framework for collecting bridge strike data and for ensuring communication of these data among the state agencies responsible for conducting bridge inspections and those responsible for issuing oversize load permits, to support the development of countermeasures; (2) practices for using the data to develop operational changes; (3) methods for evaluating bridge strike countermeasures; and (4) a review of countermeasures that have proven effective in reducing the number of bridge strikes by overheight vehicles in the states and in other countries.
Research & Outreach Maryland Study of Overheight Vehicle Collisions with Highway Bridges (2003) Peaks observed at 14.5’ (local roads) & 16.5’ (expressways) Surveys sent to all 50 states, of those responding 62% viewed bridge strikes as a significant problem and 38% did not.
Research & Outreach New York (2011) Most comprehensive study we found. New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Collision Vulnerability Assessment Procedures Perceived cause of bridge strikes
Research & Outreach Neighboring states were contacted to determine how other programs throughout the nation are addressing the issue New York Ohio
Who should we focus on? Permitted Not Permitted Cooperate Trucks Owner-Operators Leased Trucks Special Haulers Rental Trucks Contractors Recreational Not based on actual data.
What types of vehicles are the problem? PA’s ’05 to ’16 Bridge Strikes 35% Hydraulic Boom Dump Truck 54% Other Type 11%
A Bridge Strike Prevention Program Who What Where Infrastructure Data Crash Data When Why Databases and Analysis Tools • BMS2 Correlation of the • APRAS 5W’s • CDART Preventative Enforcement Engineering Education Strategies
Preventative Strategies Regulatory (Enforcement) Technological (Engineering) Education and Outreach (Education)
Preventative Strategies Regulatory Policy updates for PennDOT including prohibiting consumer GPS units for trucks Procedure updates to assess improvements after bridge strike occurs PennDOT programs specifically geared toward the prevention of bridge strikes Additional fines and penalties Additional liability insurance Mandatory education for CDL
Preventative Strategies Technological Over height vehicle detection systems (OHVDS) V2I Improve infrastructure and bridge strike crash data Truck GPS Smart Phone Apps Signage & Warnings
Preventative Strategies Education & Outreach Public and industry education Public website Coordination with organizations Annual safety course for truck drivers
Implementation Considerations Feasibility Costs Benefits Barriers to Implementations Agency Partnerships Implementation Actions
Recommendations Educational materials Drop the Boom Campaign A-B-C checklist for drivers Industry partnerships 511 PA low-clearance mapping Crash reporting and asset management linkage Risk assessment tool
Recommendations Tiered response procedures… example: Tier Damages Agency Evaluation Technological Preventative Measures • • 1 Minor Scrape or Gouge No Evaluation Necessary N/A • • 2 Large Scrape or Gouge Evaluate Existing Signing Add Signing Or Relocate Existing Signing As Needed • • 3 Multiple Scrapes or Evaluate Existing Signing Add Signing Or Relocate Existing Signing As Needed • Gouges Install Larger Signing • Consider Installing "Question" Signs • Consider Installing Pavement Markings • Consider Installing Bridge Markings • Consider Installing Overheight Vehicle Detection System • • 4 Severe Impact or Collision Evaluate Existing Signing Add Signing Or Relocate Existing Signing As Needed • • Evaluate Response by Install Larger Signing • Emergency Crews (Fire, Consider Installing "Question" Signs • Police & EMS) Consider Installing Pavement Markings • Consider Installing Bridge Markings • Consider Installing Overheight Vehicle Detection System • • 5 Multiple Severe Impacts or Evaluate Existing Signing Add Signing Or Relocate Existing Signing As Needed Collisions • • Evaluate Response by Install Larger Signing • Emergency Crews (Fire, Install Overheight Vehicle Detection System • Police & EMS) Consider Installing "Question" Signs • • Develop Report Consider Installing Pavement Markings • Consider Installing Bridge Markings
PennDOT Contact Information Robert (Bob) J. Pento, P.E. Manager, Traffic Engineering and Permits PA Department of Transportation Bureau of Maintenance and Operations 400 North Street, 6 th Floor Harrisburg PA 17120 Phone: 717-783-6265 Email: RPENTO@pa.gov
Roundtable Discussion What are your state’s experiences with bridge strikes? What is your state doing to mitigate the problem? Is it difficult to track bridge strikes in your state?
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