http://www.snopes.com/photos/accident/graphics/hoecrash4_small.jpg
The photographs displayed above capture the aftermath of an accident that occurred on the evening of 13 February 2006 on Interstate 70 near Hays, Kansas. The driver of a semi-tractor trailer that was hauling a track hoe excavator on a flatbed misestimated the clearance at an overpass, and the boom of the hoe collided with the overpass and knocked a 45-foot gap through the deck of the bridge. The accident forced an 11-day closure of the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70. (The bridge itself remained closed even after the highway reopened.)
The driver of the rig was uninjured, although he was later cited for not having clearance to drive on the interstate. The Kansas Department of Transportation said the construction company for which the driver worked would be liable for the cost of repairs to the overpass, which were estimated at $134,000 as of late March 2006.
An Associated Press photo captured the scene the night of the accident:
Interstate 70 bridge repairs near Hays could be done by August
Associated Press
HAYS, Kan. - The Kansas Department of Transportation said repairs to a 45-foot gap in a bridge over Interstate 70 should be done by August and could cost up to half a million dollars.
Kevin Zimmer, an area engineer for the Transportation Department, said contractors should have the deck of the bridge poured by July 4. Then workers will begin on the curb and rails.
The bridge near Hays was damaged Feb. 15, when it was struck by a flatbed trailer owned by Lee Construction. The truck was carrying a track hoe excavator, which struck the overpass and knocked a hole in the bridge, forcing an 11-day closure of the eastbound lanes of the interstate.
The driver, Michael M. Conley, was cited for deviating from his assigned route.
Zimmer has said the Transportation Department had to dip into its emergency funds to pay for traffic control after the accident and remove the damaged part of the overpass. He said the state plans to forward a bill for the repair work to Lee Construction's insurance company.
"We're focusing on rebuilding the bridge," Zimmer said. "At the end, we'll recap all of our expenses to the date. That's when it will be turned over to insurance."
Nuts and Bolts
Kansas construction firm has bad day
By Olivia Grider
If your truck drivers need a reminder to measure the equipment loads they’re hauling, an incident that happened near Hays, Kansas, in February is one of the best you’re likely to find.
An excavator being transported on a flatbed trailer smashed into an Interstate 70 overpass, its boom raising as it ripped more than halfway through the bridge. “We’ve never seen anything like this,†says Kevin Zimmer, area engineer for the Kansas Department of Transportation. “The boom just punched a hole through the deck.†Zimmer says minor overpass hits occur from time to time, but they usually take a 1- to 2-foot chunk of concrete out of the bridge and then slide under it.
The Transportation Department plans to bill Garden City, Kansas, firm Lee Construction, the owner of the tractor trailer, for the mishap. Cleanup costs totaled $134,000 and Zimmer says a 45-foot bridge section replacement could cost hundreds of thousands. Eastbound lanes of I-70 through Hays were closed for 11 days, sending drivers on a 9-mile detour. Zimmer says work on the bridge is scheduled to start this month and it will probably reopen to traffic in July.
The truck driver, Michael Conley, didn’t have the necessary permits to be on the interstate and was supposed to travel on two-lane roads. Unsure of the route he should take when he reached Hays, Conley looked at a map and saw he could use the interstate to get to his destination, Zimmer says. The excavator struck the first overpass he came to, about a mile into his journey on I-70. No one was injured in the collision, although debris damaged a sport utility vehicle that was driving alongside the semi. The trailer carrying the excavator separated from the truck.
Zimmer has this advice for anyone hauling large construction equipment: “Before you get headed down the road, check your actual height and make sure you know your route really well.â
