This is what I love about the Internet. "Feed the Canopener" links to his Patreon. Hahahaha.
11 Foot 8 – The Can-opener Bridge
171–180 of 216 posts
Re: 11 Foot 8 – The Can-opener Bridge
#172[deleted]
Re: 11 Foot 8 – The Can-opener Bridge
#173The 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 never understood the high-tech approach to this problem. Where i am from they have large metal tubes dangling down a ways in front of the bridge. Makes it sound like you have already hit it. Another more insistent approach I have seen elsewhere is to mount a large steel bar across the road, which takes the top of the truck off before they hit the bridge. (edit:not very simple problem, obviously..)
The gas tank on top of a bus in Stockholm exploded when the bus was about to enter a tunnel protected by a metal bar: https://youtu.be/4pVStENP_Y4
Re: 11 Foot 8 – The Can-opener Bridge
#174The 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…
Melbourne, not to be outdone by our rivals, have the Montague St bridge which is frequently doing in trucks. Even has its own Twitter account, because of course it does: https://twitter.com/MontagueStBridg/status/12197515386602332... https://twitter.com/MontagueStBridg/status/12068168482782535... https://twitter.com/MontagueStBridg/status/11919444569053306...
Similarly, Perth has the Baysie Bridge: https://www.howmanydayssincebayswaterbridgehasbeenhit.com/
It's apparently slated to be replaced, though.
Re: 11 Foot 8 – The Can-opener Bridge
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
i think the point is to prevent damage to trucks, not to completely destroy them
For a major tunnel like this, you'd rather prevent damage / long-term obstruction of the tunnel.
Then why not just build a throwaway structure the same shape as the tunnel, some ways from the entrance, for people to crash into instead?
Re: 11 Foot 8 – The Can-opener Bridge
#176They ought to make it lower , so it’s most obvious that a truck won’t fit. Make it no more than 2metres, whatever that is in American, so that only cars can go through.
This is America. People have pickup trucks that have been raised to a height above 2m (about 6'6" in American)
So? If you're stupid enough to opt in to having an unnecessarily tall vehicle then you should expect more difficulty in using the road.
Re: 11 Foot 8 – The Can-opener Bridge
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interstates?
Do they have a requirement for bridge/tunnel heights? I recall an American trucker telling me that such a requirement did not exist in the US, but he could have been mistaken.
America is a collection of thousands of jurisdictions that all have authority based on who is paying for the road.
Interstates are controlled by the Federal Highway Commission and must meet Federal Highway standards as the federal government generally pays for them
State Routes are controlled by State Regulations
County Routes are controlled by County Regulations
City Routes are controlled by City Regulations
There is zero standard that is applied universally. This is is viewed by some as a negative personally I prefer the federalist system over a central authority
Most State and Federal routes do have Minimum Heights, though exceptions can be made, one thing we often see in the US not remeasuring the surface, there have been more than a few time where the height is reported as X but that measurement was decades old and several resurfacing layers had been added to the real height is lower. Or the road pitches to one side and someone measured the highest side not the low side
Re: 11 Foot 8 – The Can-opener Bridge
#178The 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…
That will just cause people to pay less attention when they know they will get warned before driving in too small a tunnel.
I personally think things like red light with height detector or metal bars that bump into your truck and make massive amount of noise should be enough.
Water curtains with lasers projecting stop sign? That's just crazy. And we all pay for the infrastructure to save people who can't be bothered to stop before red light.
In my opinion if things like that start getting implemented this is just going to cause people to pay even less attention. Everybody should know to stop before red light.