151–160 of 216 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've often seen large gates with hanging chains at the maximal height just before low bridges and tunnels. Wouldn't that also be pretty efficient, reliable and not requiring any maintenance? I suppose having an obstacle spring in front of you would be even more likely to make you stop, but if you're still going when some chains hit the top of your vehicle you deserve to have your license suspended anyway.
The point is not to avoid damaging the trucks, it is to prevent the trucks damaging the bridge behind the barrier.
The road and railroad were only closed for 4 days, but it's clear that if the truck in this incident had a bit more momentum, the bridge could have been removed entirely.
The Sidney Harbor Tunnel had a similar problem. They came up with an elaborate but successful solution.[1] There are detectors and huge flashing warning signs that light up. Then, there's the last-chance sign. At the entrance to the tunnel, pumps force a curtain of water straight down across the entire roadway. Then a powerful laser system projects a giant octagonal red STOP sign onto the water curtain, filling the e…
I thought you were joking... until I saw the video. It looks like a huge bright curtain with a 15-foot tall STOP sign unfurls in front of the driver! Whatever the cost, I'm sure it's paid for itself already.
Just a toilet flush mechanism to a pipe with thousands of holes spraying downwards, and a bulb, lens, and plastic film for the logo.
The bulb would be a few of those football stadium arc lamps. One kilowatt per square meter is sunlight brightness, so you're going to be needing ~10kw of lighting.
The whole system, complete with installation labor, probably $30k. Most of that is in mechanical supports for the water system.
Except, government being government, I bet this was a $10M contract awarded to someone's mate...
The Sidney Harbor Tunnel had a similar problem. They came up with an elaborate but successful solution.[1] There are detectors and huge flashing warning signs that light up. Then, there's the last-chance sign. At the entrance to the tunnel, pumps force a curtain of water straight down across the entire roadway. Then a powerful laser system projects a giant octagonal red STOP sign onto the water curtain, filling the e…
Why cant they put a swinging bar at the tunnel height some distance before the tunnel? The bar knocks the top of the truck and wakes up whoever is driving to the fact that the truck is too tall.
I have no idea how you can be so distracted when driving that you fail to register when your truck is whacked by those height bars, but ... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
So far the best solution I've seen to this sort of thing (other than building a taller bridge) is the waterfall approach. Probably a bit spensie for some rando railroad bridge but it's clever nonetheless. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-1008464/Amazing...
The maximum standard height for a vehicle is 4 metres in Europe. All E-routes in Europe require that bridges and tunnels can clear at least 4 metres, otherwise they cannot get designated with the E-route. Is there a similar concept of safe routes for lorries and buses in the US?
What's beautiful about the 11 Foot 8 bridge is that quietly it's been a constant in my life. I distinctly remember watching the videos over a decade ago on this YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/yovo68 There's an element of schadenfreude that's so compelling in watching ordinary situations go terribly wrong.