FDOT Outlines Plan To Remedy Hwy 29 Truck Rollovers

August 16, 2016

The Florida Department of Transportation has taken a another step toward addressing the problem with a North Century Boulevard curve that has seen multiple semi-truck rollovers.

A month after covering signage south of the curve that instructed northbound drivers to remain in the right lane, the Florida Department of Transportation has informed the Town of Century that FDOT has a plan in the works.

FDOT has completed a “geometric analysis” of a two mile stretch of northbound Highway 29 between Front Street and the Alabama state line. As a result, FDOT has developed a plan to install signs that will warn truckers of the tipping hazard on northbound Highway 29 leading into two curves, including the one near Jackson Street that has been of the most concern.

In addition, FDOT plans to restrict trucks to the left lane in the area and install additional signs to communicate that message to truck drivers.

An email from the Florida Department of Transportation acknowledges that new signs and lane restrictions are short term fixes, and the department is working to identify a design and construction project to correct the slope of the roadway.

FDOT’s email did not identify a time frame for the new signage, other than to say “as soon as possible”.

Century and Escambia County have both pressed FDOT to eventually fix the elevation problem with the roadway.

Twice this year, semi-trucks rolled over in a curve on North Century Boulevard at Jackson Street. City and county officials believe the curve is badly designed with a slope in the outer lane that is difficult for semis to negotiate at the posted 35 mph speed limit. The amount of lean on an 18-wheeler in the outer lane is demonstrated in the photo below.

Pictured top: The Florida Department of Transportation has covered a sign on North Century Boulevard that instructed trucks to use the right lane. Pictured below: A tanker truck leans as it negotiates a dangerous curve on North Century Boulevard. Pictured inset: Mayor Freddie McCall and FDOT engineers observe North Century Boulevard traffic. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

3 Responses to “FDOT Outlines Plan To Remedy Hwy 29 Truck Rollovers”

  1. M in Bratt on August 17th, 2016 8:22 am

    Good Going Freddie, looks like you finally got something going.

    @jeeperman, Wrong again, that is not a pressurized trailer with an inert gas. It is a cryogenic trailer full of nitrous oxide

  2. jeeperman on August 16th, 2016 4:15 pm

    Is the truck pictured on the subject curve?

    Notice the trailer?
    An Airgas pressurized tanker.
    Just imagine that truck rolling over and getting the tank punctured.
    Even if it is an inert product, the pressure being released could be………………
    really bad.

  3. Retired on August 16th, 2016 2:28 pm

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Geometric analysis is a mathematical discipline at the interface of differential geometry and differential equations. It includes both the use of geometrical methods in the study of partial differential equations (when it is also known as “geometric PDE”), and the application of the theory of partial differential equations to geometry. It incorporates problems involving curves and surfaces, or domains with curved boundaries, but also the study of Riemannian manifolds in arbitrary dimension. The calculus of variations is sometimes regarded as part of geometric analysis, because differential equations arising from variational principles have a strong geometric content. Geometric analysis also includes global analysis, which concerns the study of differential equations on manifolds, and the relationship between differential equations and topology.

    In Layman terms, “Yep ya’ll are right, A semi might and did turn over on that curve and might again.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News