Railway bridge crash

muskyj · 06-02-2011 12:15am #1

just wondering if anyone saw this. the lough atalia road was closed for most of today and will be for most of tomorrow to assess structural damage. curious as to how bad the crash was. no one was badly injured thankfully.

Blinking_Badger · 06-02-2011 12:18am

yep, traffic was a nightmare through town this afternoon due to the road being closed.....glad no one was hurt though

biko · 06-02-2011 12:23am

Aha, that why I was redirected when driving there today.

flazio · 06-02-2011 12:26am

Any pictures anywhere online?

JohnCleary · 06-02-2011 12:33am

Feckin' truck hit it

dilallio · 06-02-2011 12:36am

Did something collide with the bridge or was it caused by the storm or structural failure?

Edit: - Just saw JC's post

Blinking_Badger · 06-02-2011 12:46am

flazio wrote: »

Any pictures anywhere online?

For your rubbernecking pleasure, I imagine it was something like this:

FouxDaFaFa · 06-02-2011 5:05am

Is the Line still open to pedestrians? Just have no idea of the extent of the damage to the bridge, if any.

Blinking_Badger · 07-02-2011 12:00am

Thanks for the thanks boardies!

BB

Storm 10 · 07-02-2011 11:24am

Just on Galway Bay FM now the earliest the bridge will open will be next Friday. How can anyone hit a well marked bridge, surley the driver could have stopped, got out and looked to see if the truck would fit under it if he was unsure of his truck height, traffic in the town today is chaotic.:mad:

Fey! · 07-02-2011 11:32am

Garda, looking at truck stuck under bridge, "Did ya get stuck?"

Driver, "Nah, I was delivering this bridge when my lorry broke down!!!"

Aerohead · 07-02-2011 11:38am

Fey! wrote: »

Garda, looking at truck stuck under bridge, "Did ya get stuck?"

Driver, "Nah, I was delivering this bridge when my lorry broke down!!!"

"Get Your Coat"

fago · 07-02-2011 12:07pm

I passed under the bridge at about 10 Sat morning, just before the road was closed.

Whoever hit it gave it a good smack - a 2 or 3 foot section of one of the arches was on the ground on the town side.

You'd wonder about the structural integrity of a iron bridge that old, when a chunk that big can be knocked out of it.

dloob · 07-02-2011 12:24pm

Storm 10 wrote: »

Just on Galway Bay FM now the earliest the bridge will open will be next Friday. How can anyone hit a well marked bridge, surley the driver could have stopped, got out and looked to see if the truck would fit under it if he was unsure of his truck height, traffic in the town today is chaotic.:mad:

Maybe traffic lights were turning red so the truck decided to gun it and sure it will be grand. :pac:
I reckon Irish Rail will be issuing a few more press releases calling into question the intelligence of Irish truck drivers.

beagle001 · 07-02-2011 12:35pm

Was the driver a local or from out of town as it's hard to believe he hit that with such speed.

996tt · 07-02-2011 12:48pm

it was a truck carrying a container that struck it.

All the local trucks slow right down and enter the bridge in the middle of the road to avoid hitting it

JohnCleary · 07-02-2011 12:55pm

This is gonna cause traffic havoc in Galway until it's re-opened

Fey! · 07-02-2011 1:11pm

I'd hate to have to deliver to the docks area using the truck; the only access is now via Victoria Place, which I'd imagine would be very tight in a big truck in traffic.

Maybe the Harbour Board/Corpo could but up one of those steel bars near the traffic lights and near the petrol station which go across the road at the maximum height that the bridge can take; if they hit the bar, they're too big.

Cheaper than repairing the bridge again, and less chaos!

The might also change the lane markings showing trucks the centre line for the bridge, and put up big signs telling traffic to give way to the trucks, which may speed up traffic flow in the long run (although most road users there do tend to give way and be polite).

Malice · 07-02-2011 1:27pm

Storm 10 wrote: »

Just on Galway Bay FM now the earliest the bridge will open will be next Friday.

Great, the traffic around the city should be a lot of fun for the next few days.

Mr Man · 07-02-2011 1:33pm

Argh - this is going to be a serious pain in the gooter.

Presumably the train service is totally unaffected?

dilallio · 07-02-2011 1:57pm

Fey! wrote: »

The might also change the lane markings showing trucks the centre line for the bridge, and put up big signs telling traffic to give way to the trucks, which may speed up traffic flow in the long run (although most road users there do tend to give way and be polite).

+1000

I work a lot in the UK and the few times I've seen similar bridges, they mark the road clearly, to indicate to traffic that large trucks need to stick to the middle.

A few that I've spotted also have approach markings similar to those at a width restriction - to indicate to cars that trucks which have commenced their crossing under the bridge have 'Right of Way'. With the lights so close though, if they were to adapt this, they would probably have to give right of way to trucks coming from the direction of the Raddisson junction. Other wise traffic could build up on that side of the bridge onto the lights while waiting for trucks coming from the docks to cross.

Ticktactoe · 07-02-2011 2:08pm

Came across this on Irishrail.ie.
http://www.irishrail.ie/bridgeheights/pdf/Galway%20Bridge%20Heights.pdf

Come in handy for lorry drivers.

civis_liberalis · 07-02-2011 2:34pm

Aerohead wrote: »

"Get Your Coat"

Nah, I thought it was far better than the majority of smart comments on boards...

[Including my own]

BrokenMan · 07-02-2011 3:01pm

Mr Man wrote: »

Presumably the train service is totally unaffected?

Trains are grand though why its considered safe to drive a great lump of a train over the bridge but you cant go under it is beyond me.

ZRelation · 07-02-2011 6:48pm

BrokenMan wrote: »

Trains are grand though why its considered safe to drive a great lump of a train over the bridge but you cant go under it is beyond me.

Imagine its because its been found structurally sound but falling debris is still a risk for the cars underneath

Thargor · 07-02-2011 11:48pm

In other countries they have a lightweight hanging sign over the road a good bit in front of the bridge that is the same height so that when trucks that are too tall are headed for the bridge they hit that instead without doing any damage besides scaring the **** out of the driver and making them brake before they wedge themselves under the bridge. thinking like that is too far outside the box for this country though, there are bridges in Dublin that get struck once a month, even the Port Tunnel had all its lights pulled off the roof not so long ago.

Fey! · 07-02-2011 11:57pm

Aerohead wrote: »

"Get Your Coat"

YAY; I've finally pulled!!!

or is it :eek:???

Unrealistic · 08-02-2011 10:52pm

Storm 10 wrote: »

Just on Galway Bay FM now the earliest the bridge will open will be next Friday. How can anyone hit a well marked bridge, surley the driver could have stopped, got out and looked to see if the truck would fit under it if he was unsure of his truck height, traffic in the town today is chaotic.:mad:

Apparently opening at 6AM tomorrow morning now.

Railway bridge crash

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