Penn Pike manages, some say mismanages, fiery crash...

By some accounts half of total congestion on the roads is the result of chronic overloading, the other half comes from incidents. Many are small but it's the spectacular ones that attract the most attention - like a crash described by the Pittsburgh Tribune that occurred July 20 on the Pennsylvania Turnpike near mile marker MM140, a few miles west of the Bedford interchange IC146.

A tractor-trailer headed eastbound rolled, partly jumping the median barrier, and caught five westbound vehicles. There was a fire. Only one person was seriously injured, several others had lesser injuries. Emergency services had to move in. Then there was major wreckage to be managed and cleared. It took 3.5 hours to get the road flowing  norally again.

The Turnpike Commission was reported to have closed down 86 miles (138km) of the Turnpike between IC75 at New Stanton and IC161 at Breezewood - four segments of the Turnpike. We wondered why so many.

Why not just shut down the segment containing the crash IC110 at Somerset to IC146 at Bedford? The normal diversion is US30/US219. US219 is 2x2 lane expressway standard similar to the Turnpike, but US30 the old Lincoln Highway is basically a 2 lane road, though a pretty good one, with bypasses of some settlements once using it as a main street. (see Stoystown aerial pic)

Then we read a letter from a motorist whose family had entered the Turnpike he said about an hour after the crash and got trapped there for hours unable to get out.

It turns out the report that the Turnpike had been "closed" was somewhat misleading. Any closures were delayed and partial, even on the segment where the crash occurred.

Gerry Smith of Hampton wrote to the Tribune:

"The Trib reported that 90 miles of the Pennsylvania Turnpike were closed for nearly four hours on July 20 ("Accident closes turnpike from New Stanton to Breezewood," July 21 and PghTrib.com).

"We entered the Bedford exit (near the site of an accident involving six vehicles) an hour after the crash with no warning given us of what lay ahead.

"We could have taken an alternate route. Instead we spent seven hours on the road -- instead of three hours -- returning home from a family reunion in State College.

"Who was asleep at the wheel? The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission!

"This situation could not have been more badly handled -- no warning at the turnpike entrance (to allow drivers to take alternate routes) and no attempt to re-route traffic stalled for four hours on the turnpike.

"Can someone please explain why this was so badly handled?" End letter

Bill Capone a spokesman for the Turnpike responded with this:

"1. This accident occurred at 17:41 hours at Milepost 140 blocking both eastbound and westbound lanes.

"2. At 17:45 hours, our State Police and Maintenance personnel and affected toll plazas were notified of a possible Plan X, which is our traffic diversion plan.

"3. At 17:46 hours, we activated our Emergency Notification System (ENS) to alert motorists of the closure and advising them to seek alternate routes. This includes Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) system messages, use of Variable Message Signs (VMS), and email alerts or text messages to our Preferred Traveler members which include the media and traffic services. HAR and VMS messages were broadcast out 100 miles in advance of the accident scene. It also includes our toll free telephone service where motorists can call for real time information.

"4. At 18:33 hours, we began diverting eastbound traffic off at the New Stanton Interchange (IC75) and westbound traffic off at the Breezewood Interchange (IC161). Traffic was also being taken off at the interchanges in between, i.e. Donegal (C91), Somerset (IC110 and Bedford. Because it appeared to be a long term closure, a decision was made to divert at New Stanton and Breezewod rather than use smaller interchanges that could not handle the traffic exiting there. When you use New Stanton and Breezewood, the detour routes primarily use interstates rather than local routes.

"So, the mainline roadway closure was implemented at 18:33 hours but entry ramps at some of the interchanges in between were not closed until closer to 19:00 hours.

(This must be how letter-writer Gerry Smith above got trapped! - TOLLROADSnews)

"Deploying personnel to multiple interchanges for traffic control is a challenge. We were not satisfied with our response to this incident and are taking steps to enable us to respond more effectively, including other means of communicating with motorists entering the Turnpike.

"I understand people’s frustration when they are caught in traffic on the Turnpike for hours because of an incident. However, in addition to managing the traffic on the Turnpike, we have to be concerned with how we are impacting roads and communities off the Turnpike when we divert thousands of vehicles or block entrance to our system.

"Of course this is in addition to dealing with the accident scene where our priorities are:
- life safety – attend to the injured and ensure overall scene safety
- incident stabilization – minimize any impact the incident may have on the surrounding area
- restore traffic to normal conditions – reopen the road as soon as possible

"The goal at the scene of an accident is to size it up in the first 5 minutes and request needed emergency services. Then, a determination is made about the length of time the roadway will be closed. If a lane or shoulder cannot be reopened in 1 hour or more, a Plan X is recommended."

end Turnpike Commission response

COMMENT: Seems to us a Plan Y might be worth considering in future in which long distance traffic is informed:

- "Closed Ahead IC110-IC146" with variable message signs just before IC28 in Cranberry eastbound and advised "Alternate I-79 South/I-68 east" with later MD/I-68 signs "north on I-70"

- "Closed Ahead IC146 to IC110" with variable message signs just before IC161 Breezewood westbound and advised "Alternate I-70 South/I-68 west" with later signs in WV "north on I-79"

(When the Mon Fayette Expressway/Southern Beltway is further advanced it becomes another alternate.)

With a decent portion of longdistance traffic moved to alternate interstates US30 and a north-south route could probably handle a single leg diversion around an incident like this.

But the Turnpike would need more modern variable message signage.

And diversions like this might also benefit from higher speed interchange ramps - it has some of the tightest loops in the country and too many regular rollovers. And maybe the Turnpike could pay for some smoothing out of bottlenecks on alternate roads like US30 - more Stoystown type bypasses.

TOLLROADSnews 2008-08-04