Deadly crash draws bridge railing scrutiny
Aging guardrails a factor in another area highway tractor trailer fatality
For the second time in a week, a tractor trailer driver plunged to his death Wednesday after crashing through a decades-old highway railing, highlighting the hazards of some of the region’s roadway maintenance challenges.
The crash along northbound Loop 610 just south of the Houston Ship Channel was reported around 8:30 a.m. Police said the semi fell off the highway after the driver tried to avoid a smaller car that may have cut him off in traffic.
The truck driver was pinned in the vehicle, which flipped upside down in the fall and landed on a water tank. Firefighters had to saw away parts of the truck to remove the driver and free him from the wreckage. He later died.
It was the second such crash in six days along Houston’s east side. Around 3:30 a.m. June 27, a truck plunged from Interstate 10 into the San Jacinto River when its driver swerved to miss a car involved in a previous crash.
In both cases, the aging guardrails gave way upon impact from the large trucks. Following the crash last week, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez noted the I-10 bridge railings were not capable of stopping a truck.
Texas Department of Transportation officials did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday, citing the ongoing investigation into the morning crash and staff absent for the July 4 holiday.
Statewide, roughly four in 10 railings along major highways do not meet current, acceptable safety standards, a review of federal bridge inspections shows. Of the 17,532 bridges along major interstates and federal and state highways in Texas, 6,631 are listed as having insufficient railings. That includes 30 of the 200 bridges and overpasses along Loop 610, mostly along the eastern side of the freeway loop.
Along I-10 in Harris County — much of which west of downtown has been rebuilt in the past 20 years — only 35 of 248 spans have outdated railings. Of those, 32 are east of Loop 610, along the oldest segments of the freeway and among the most heavily traveled by big trucks.
The bridge where Wednesday’s crash occurred was built in 1973 and still is rated in satisfactory condition. Structurally, unlike some area bridges, its last few inspections have not shown deterioration or signs it was slipping into poor condition.
Its design, however, is based on standards from 40 years ago. Its railings are shorter concrete curbs, topped with a steel bar bracketed to the concrete, usually reaching a height of about 36 inches. Today’s higher, heavier trucks easily can tear through them, numerous engineering studies have found.
Where freeways are newer, the barriers are different: Typically taller, about 42 inches or more, and solid concrete with steel reinforcement.
“We have safer standards and safer technology and safer methods than we did in the ’60s, no question,” said John Esparza, president of the Texas Trucking Association.
The challenge has been replacing those aging facilities fast enough, Esparza said. In most cases, freeway walls are rebuilt along with new overpasses, meaning decades of wait for new walls in some spots. Across the system, maintenance needs are mounting, along with use of the freeways.
“We have more freight in this state than we have ever seen and more people in the state than we have ever seen,” Esparza said.
Funding approved by voters in 2014 and 2015 is adding $2 billion to TxDOT’s budget of about $6 billion annually, mostly aimed at safety and congestion relief projects, such as the rebuild of the Interstate 69 interchange with Loop 610 near Uptown.
“It garnered the appropriate attention,” Esparza said of the influx in funding for roads. “We caught up, but have we moved forward?”
Until many aging segments are addressed, Esparza said officials will have to balance temporary repairs to resolve known issues such as insufficient barriers, with future plans for freeways.
“If you have $100, do you spend $45 today to remedy part of the situation, then wait to remedy everything when you have $100 again,” he said.
In the meantime, police and safety officials urged caution, especially around heavy trucks. Responding to questions about the role of the car driver in causing Wednesday morning’s crash, Houston Police Cmdr. Patricia Cantu said drivers must give heavy trucks space.
“At the speeds they are going, it takes them longer to stop,” Cantu said at the scene of Wednesday’s crash.