A49 Beeston (nr Warrington)
The 15’0 railway bridge has now been reduced to 14’3"…
Official response from the local council today is as follows…
There have been a lot of bridge impacts over the last couple of years and we have reviewed the signed height of the low bridge. The safe height as signed is now 4.3m / 14’3’’. The signs on the bridge have been renewed and the approach signs. But two approach signs have been missed. One on the west approach to the Red Fox junction and one by Ridley Green. We will update these two signs as soon as we can.
Regards
Guy Balmer
Cheshire West and Chester
Bridges Engineer
Highways Depot
Guilden Sutton
CH3 7EX
01244 973688
They’ve reduced the safe height… This didn’t mean the bridge was incorrectly marked…
You’re more likely to try (and fail) to get a 15’4 under a 15’ than you are under a 14’3…
Mind games… That’s all…
Kate:
They’ve reduced the safe height… This didn’t mean the bridge was incorrectly marked…
You’re more likely to try (and fail) to get a 15’4 under a 15’ than you are under a 14’3…
Mind games… That’s all…
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Im sure you’re correct. Mind games.
Having inched my 14’11" truck under that 15’ bridge, now marked at 14’3", I now know my height. I know I can fit under a 14’3".
So if I see a sign saying 14’6" I must be ok to go at it full tilt.([emoji5]) Except it’s a 14’9" bridge, correctly marked and 2" lower than my truck.
What we need are accurate signs, and accurate vehicle heights. Not “mind games” and second guessing of safety margins and double bluffing.
I agree we need accurate bridge and veichel heights .
Plus some good old.common sense.
As I know many drivers who think signs on bridges and in cab are always a couple.of inches out.
And they know they can squeeze under bridges upto 2inchs lower than they are .
In this day and age though am surprised
Cabs don’t have inbuilt technology then can recognise a low bridge then have it either flash up to warn you or applies the brakes so you don’t driver under it
It actually wouldn’t surprise me if it was now a 14ft 3in plus a couple “spare”. Resurfacing local roads for a while now just involves a quick scuffing of the surface, a quick coat of tar and throw a load of stone on it.
When the local council know they have no chance of making this part of the A49 a 7.5t limit, what do you do ?, lower the the bridge height from 15ft to 14ft 3in and therefore significantly reduce the amount of HGV’s passing through the village, instead sending them down the A51, I live locally and no resurfacing has been done, just a sudden overnight height change !!!
matt38mc:
When the local council know they have no chance of making this part of the A49 a 7.5t limit, what do you do ?, lower the the bridge height from 15ft to 14ft 3in and therefore significantly reduce the amount of HGV’s passing through the village, instead sending them down the A51, I live locally and no resurfacing has been done, just a sudden overnight height change !!!
The “Safe Height” reduction has been implemented in an attempt to reduce the amount of strikes this bridge has, by restricting the quantity of high vehicles attempting to use the A49… (According to the Chief Engineer at Eest Cheshire and Chester Council.)
You’re right though, no resurfacing involved …
Franglais:
What we need are accurate signs, and accurate vehicle heights. Not “mind games” and second guessing of safety margins and double bluffing.
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What we also need is drivers who can read and obey warning signs.
edd1974:
In this day and age though am surprised
Cabs don’t have inbuilt technology then can recognise a low bridge then have it either flash up to warn you or applies the brakes so you don’t driver under it
They have for years, it’s fitted behind the steering wheel and it’s called a driver.
Franglais:
What we need are accurate signs, and accurate vehicle heights. Not “mind games” and second guessing of safety margins and double bluffing.
Sent from my SM-G361F using Tapatalk
What we also need is drivers who can read and adhere to warning signs.
True, the two would need to go together.
But knowing that signs are accurate and not just exaggerated for effect, might help. So long as its possible to do stupid things, Murphys Law dictates it`ll happen. Taking away the “They always add on 6*inches” excuse might help?
Not always. Got a classic one round here; the old railway bridge at Llanpumpsaint in Carmarthenshire has been marked at 12’3" for as long as I can remember. A year or so ago, the council put advance warning signs up on several approach roads which state that there is a 12’6" bridge a few miles ahead.
Now my wagon is 12’ 6" , measured it meself when I got it and as far as I’m concerned the marked height on the bridge is the maximum allowed. So I assumed they’d re-measured it after resurfacing, and instead of my usual five mile detour to get to one of my customers I went direct; only to find when I got to the bridge that nothing had changed and the ■■■■ thing was still officially three inches lower than me lorry. Needless to say I didn’t attempt it.
Luckily there’s enough room to turn round so it just cost me a bit of time; but one day somebody ain’t going to be so observant or have my local knowledge. Have to wonder if the council would end up with some sort of liability if the bridge DID get hit?