safety

A collapse in an approach span of the investor built Jordan toll bridge in the city of Chesapeake Virginia has generated another set of state penalties, this time against Figg Bridge's partner in the project Lane Construction. The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry's Occupational Safety and Health Compliance office (known as VOSH) alleges five violations of safe practice and levies $21,000 in fines.

The charges say Lane Construction failed to follow the manufacturer of the segment launching girder's requirements for inspections and maintenance.

2012/12/14: VOSH, Virginia's safety regulators have hit Figg Bridge Builders with citations for unsafe practices associated with the collapse of an approach span of the Jordan Bridge under construction June 21.

Despite scaremongering about an increase in the speed limit to 70mph in  the spring of 2011 the Ohio Turnpike remained one of the safest roads in the region and fatalities for the year at six continued a downward trend. The fatality number hasn't been this low in any year since the Turnpike opened.

Crashes are down drastically at the Miami toll points of Florida's Turnpike since their conversion to all-electronic tolling (AET) February 19 this year. Five former mainline toll plazas (one a split plaza) went completely freeflow and cashless in the conversion. Previously they'd had open road tolling (ORT) through the middle but cash toll booths to the sides of the mainline plazas.

The Ambassador Bridge company may support publication of a summary of their controversial 2007 inspection report, a bridge official told TOLLROADSnews today. They have been the subject of fierce criticism for court moves to keep the bridge report under wraps on the grounds that it covers up safety problems. The official told us there was no reason to keep the broad conclusions of the report secret.

Talk about trying to order back the tide!

Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun is fighting in the courts to try suppress a safety inspection report on his toll bridge. His lawyers cite national security and various confidentiality agreements.

Piffle. 100% piffle.

No report on the safety condition of a publicly used bridge can possibly be justified as "secret."

Detroit International Bridge Company (DIBC) owners of the Ambassador Bridge, Detroit-Windsor have filed suit to prevent Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) from releasing an annual safety and condition report.  They claim in the suit filed in US District Court in Detroit that release of the report would:

Cintra/Macquarie concessionaires at the Indiana Toll Road are starting work on a project to lower about 500m (1600ft) of the roadway by about 2.5m (8ft) where the pike is on the flight path of planes using nearby Gary Chicago Airport.  The edge of the toll road is located only 700m (2300ft) from the end of the main 7200foot (2200m) main runway.

Research in California shows that a common slip lane treatment for access/egress for HOV and HOT lanes is unsafe. The study, results of which are published in the Intellimotion newsletter, show significantly higher collision rates with limited access/egress in designated zones as opposed to continuous access/egress or lane changing at will.

Tollroads are 36% safer than free roads according to data published by Jeff Campbell in an article "Toll vs Nontoll: Toll facilities are safer" which will appear in the next issue of the IBTTA journal TOLLWAYS. Campbell is the research manager at IBTTA.