Tenn. DOT Changes Vital Bridge Weight Limit Without Warning

After reading that article it does sound to me like it's less of an intentional trap than it is incompetence. An inspector decided the weigh limit needed to be lowered and nobody bothered to reroute trucks. But it says that the concern was potentially having multiple max weigh trucks on the bridge at the same time, so maybe what they need is a scheme to only allow one at a time to cross.

What's interesting is - how in the hell do you get across that damn river? ZInc Plant Bridge looks about the same. The next nearest crossings are TN-79 at Dover or 49 at Ashland.

Pretty country - out in the sticks - but very few ways to get across a river for miles and miles.

Rick

What's interesting is - how in the hell do you get across that damn river?

Pontoons?

I go there often. There are back ways to get there coming from i40 but it ain't pretty. There's also a way in from 24 in KY. If you're coming from Nashville however it's gonna be a longer detour. Zinc plant and river road aren't exactly spacious either.

I'm sorry, that I can't remember the location now, but there was a place that I used to go pick up sheetrock at which had a load limited bridge on the only road to the plant. You were fine going in, but you were always illegal going out! I inquired of the security guard one night, and he just told me that the local authorities understood the dilemma, and therefore did not give tickets for the violation. It absolutely made no sense, but every time I would cross that bridge there was a pucker factor that I could never control for some strange reason - I never was comfortable going to that plant.

This is interesting. I have run into this over weight for road/ bridge a few times as a flatbed driver. One was in Joplin MO there was a shingle manufacturer on a old road that said no truck over 4 tones, there was a cop sitting right there at the intersection to the road just waiting on trucks so I get out and ask him if there was another way into the plant. No there was no other way in, he said we would not right me a ticket. But the shingle place would get a fine. Turns out the city wanted the plant to move so they made the road a 4 ton limit. Second place I had a problem with is in CA I had to take pipe out to a job site on the Delta. I checked my atlis and the road is not a truck route call CHP to find out what restrictions are on the road they tell me non. So I head down the road about 10 miles in there is a sign no truck over 20 feet king pin to rear axel, I am driving a 48 foot split axel. There was also 2 bridges that that were 1 semi truck at a time on a bridge and all other traffic had to stop. Because CHP did not know about restrictions, I don't know what was going on. There is a bridge going into a lumber mill in Or on a truck route with a 31 ton limit. When do trucks going into or out of a lumber mill loaded ever weight 31 tons.

This stuff happens all the time across the country so drive with your eyes open and read every sign and don't put your self in harm's way.

I believe this is a perfect example of bridges that were originally designed and engineered for 40 Tons, but have deteriorated to the point that Engineers have determined they can no longer safely support that kind of weight. Local, State, and the Federal Government have misappropriated zilloins of our tax dollars over the years, as opposed to spending it on necessary budget items. It seems they ALWAYS cut spending on ESSENTIAL services, ( Police, Fire, Transportation, Education, etc.), to fund their PET PORK BARREL PROJECTS. The taxpayer is left holding the bag, and public safety is put in jeopardy. Just my $.02

Tractor you got me thinking about something. 40 tons did not used to be the weight limit if I remember right it used to be less. Just like the trailers used to be smaller. I wander how many bridges were bandaided to make it so they could take 40 tons and are now just braking down because of use and time.

From the article linked - the steel in the bridge had deteriorated to the point where they were no longer confident the bridge could handle multiple max-gross rigs at the same time.

Hate to be one of the guys on this sucker if it collapses.

Ragging on how our infrastructure has deteriorated aside, this is a huge issue - especially in areas away from metro areas/interstates - where this infrastructure may be the only thing for many miles, that crosses a river.

Highway use taxes, fuel taxes, Heavy Vehicle Use Tax (annual for every unit on the road), tolls - all of this revenue is supposed to support the infrastructure.

Rick

Its a larger issue than we realize honestly, we were world leaders in infrastructure when we started building up after WWII. Now some parts of our country literally have worse infrastructure than some 3rd world countries.