Aug 18, 2008 6:47 pm US/Eastern
Inspectors Examine Barriers On Bay Bridge
Reporting
Adam May
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) ―
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The Bay Bridge crash that happened on Aug. 10 killed truck driver, 57-year-old John Short.
CBS
Is the Bay Bridge safe? Inspectors are trying to answer that question.
It was a week ago a tractor trailer driver was killed when his big rig went off the bridge as he swerved to avoid a collision.
Adam May reports right now the jersey walls of the bridge are the focus of a massive state inspection.
Meanwhile, some temporary barriers just put in after the accident are not up to par.
An examination of the jersey walls of the Bay Bridge Monday was far from typical.
Workers are trying to figure out how strong the barriers are. They're also deciding if they can or need to be enhanced, that's according to the Maryland Transportation Authority's chief engineer.
After the accident, MdTA put in temporary jersey walls to replace the barrier that fell into the water, but they don't meet modern construction standards.
Today's standards call for 42-inch railings, but the Bay Bridge 34-inch railings built before that standard, and the temporary fixture is even shorter a few inches.
The MdTA's chief engineer could not guess how long it would take to fix the temporary barrier that is almost a foot below the standard.
"Part of the follow-up that we're doing now is as we develop solutions with regard to how can we strengthen, how can we make this better. We want to make sure we have good dimensions so that the solution we come up with will fit in all locations across the bridge," said Geoffrey Kolberg, MdTA chief engineer.
The driver of the tractor trailer in last week's crash was killed.
Right now all the evidence in the case suggests he was trying to avoid a Camaro that crossed the center line during a two-way traffic pattern. The final accident report is still pending.
This isn't the first time a vehicle has crashed through the barriers on the Bay Bridge. In March 1980, another tractor trailer broke through the railing and dangled over the edge. In December 1981, another truck went over the edge. Both of those drivers survived.
No charges have been filed in last week's crash.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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