Captured the aftermath of an accident

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On February 13, 2006, a semi-tractor trailer carrying a track hoe excavator collided with an overpass on Interstate 70 near Hays, Kansas, resulting in a significant accident. The boom of the excavator misjudged the clearance, creating a 45-foot gap in the bridge deck and leading to an 11-day closure of the eastbound lanes. The driver was uninjured but cited for not ensuring proper clearance, and the construction company was held responsible for the estimated $134,000 repair costs. The discussion highlights the surprising structural damage caused by the collision, noting the strength of the concrete and steel of the overpass and the stress on the excavator's boom. Participants also shared anecdotes of similar incidents involving oversized loads and the challenges of navigating low-clearance areas.
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http://www.snopes.com/photos/accident/hoecrash.asp
(Edit: replaced url to images with url to webpage.)

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.

(Edit: removed faulty url)

A hoe weighing 8 tons is on top of a flatbed trailer and heading east on Interstate 70 near Hays, Kansas. The extended shovel arm is made of hardened refined steel and the approaching overpass is made of commercial-grade concrete, reinforced with 1 1/2 inch steel rebar spaced at 6 inch intervals in a criss-cross pattern layered at 1 foot vertical spacing.

Solve: When the shovel arm hits the overpass, how fast do you have to be going to slice the bridge in half? (Assume no effect for headwind and no braking by the driver.)

Extra Credit: Solve for the time and distance required for the entire rig to come to a complete stop after hitting the overpass at the speed calculated above.

And you probably thought engineers don't have a sense of humor. :biggrin:
 
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I can't get any of your links to work. Can you check them please?
 
Likewise. 'Page Cannot Be Displayed'
 
Sorry 'bout the links. I guess they don't allow direct access to the images. The snopes site has those annoying popups.

I put the url to the page with the article and images.
 
That was worth waiting for. What a bonehead... :biggrin:
 
Wow, that's amazing it could penetrate that far into the bridge without simply breaking off the boom. That's solid concrete and steel its going through. It almost cut through the bridge, that thing must be under an unacceptable amount of stress in that section.
 
cyrusabdollahi said:
Wow, that's amazing it could penetrate that far into the bridge without simply breaking off the boom. That's solid concrete and steel its going through. It almost cut through the bridge, that thing must be under an unacceptable amount of stress in that section.

I think any thing would be under a great deal of stress with a thumping great track hoe charging towards it.:smile:
 
I've seen big trucks wedged under overpasses (especially on the parkways on Long Island) but I have never seen something do that much damage.

Brewnog might have to show that around at work and they could have a new competative benchmark for Cat's backhoes.
 
Many years ago, I came across a vessel on a flat bed that had just impacted an overpass. The road was bumpy enough, I suspect that the trailer and its load (the vessel) must have bounced and hit the bridge (there clearance was too low, and the driver should have been driving slower). Anyway, several of the bridges beams buckled.

A car, which was following closely behind the trailer, hit the rear left corner of the trailer, because the driver could not respond fast enough to avoid it, when it came to an abupt stop under the bridge.
 
  • #10
The arm is sticking up a good 10ft through the roadway but the barrier is unharmed... Wonder how that happened :confused:
 

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