The crane, which was on a flatbed trailer, caused major damage to the new Loop 363 bridge shortly after noon by breaking through cement and cutting through cables and punching a hole in another section.
“It needs to be replaced,” said Ken Roberts, Texas Department of Transportation spokesman, of the damaged girder. “We’ll put up a temporary support so we can reopen the interstate. There’s no danger of any kind of collapse.”
Of the 40 cables exposed by accident, 27 had been cut, according to Roberts.
The old bridge was scraped underneath, but not damaged and traffic continued to flow across it. The new bridge has a clearance of 14 feet 3 inches while the old bridge has a clearance of 16 feet 2 inches. The crane on the truck stood at about 16 feet, but the impact caused the trailer and crane to buckle, adding 6 to 8 inches to its height.
“When the new roadway comes through here, the roadway will be lowered several feet,” according to Sgt. Allen Teston, Temple police public information officer.
Until the new highway is constructed oversized trucks are supposed to leave the interstate.
Teston said that at Midway Road all Interstate 35 truck traffic is directed to move to the right-hand lane. In that lane, the trucks are measured and if too high a warning system activates a sign with flashing yellow lights directing the driver to exit onto the frontage road.
“He ignored it,” Teston said.
Henry Leroy Vaughn, 44, of Mart who is a driver for Knife River Corp. of Waco, was issued a Class C citation for disregard of traffic control device from the Temple Police Department.
“Fines will be doubled on that because it is in the construction zone,” Teston said.
The company received a second citation from the Department of Public Safety for being overheight, according to Trooper Scott Nix.
After examining the truck and trailer in a parking lot off of the interstate, Nix said he didn’t find any major defects, except for the crane being overheight. He said company officials decided to disassemble part of the equipment to get it to a legal height.
Company officials at the accident scene declined to comment.
Roberts said the bridge, which remains under construction, would have to have a girder replaced, which costs about $200,000.
“Who will pay will be worked out as far as the contract is concerned,” he said.
The bridge is part of the overall $69 million interchange project, which began in 2006 and has a 2009 estimated completion date.
The new interchange project is designed to uncork a traditional bottleneck in the city at the point where the loop passes over the interstate.
Traffic lights currently control both the loop and I-35 access roads, resulting in loop traffic backing up.
The project, when completed, will create a three-level intersection with I-35 passing through the bottom level, the loop access roads at a light-controlled intersection on the second level and unimpeded Loop 363 traffic on the third level.
Motorists driving north on the interstate endured backed up traffic into Belton. Some drivers were diverted to Texas Highway 93 to Texas Highway 95, which merges into the Southeast Loop and takes them back to the interstate.
“It’s a headache,” Roberts said as engineers checked the damage. “It’s not something you expect to do.”
It proved a headache for drivers as well as the interstate remained shut down hour after hour. The interstate opened about 9:15 p.m. Thursday.
“Shutting down I-35 always causes a lot of congestion,” he said. “On weekends or holiday weekends, it’s even worse.”
jsicking@temple-telegram.com
