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FDOT Engineer Plots Action Plan To Remedy Hwy 29 Truck Rollovers
June 23, 2016
Twice in just over a week, semi-trucks have rolled over on North Century Boulevard at Jackson Street in a curve town officials believed was ill-designed. And Wednesday, the Florida Department of Transportation agreed something needs to be done.
Century Mayor Freddie McCall met with Michael Lewis, FDOT traffic safety program engineer at the site of the accident. McCall said the slope and design of the roadway in the curve is such that trucks in the outer lane have a difficult time navigating the curve at the posted speed limit. The amount of lean on an 18-wheeler in the outer lane is demonstrated in the photo above and at the page bottom.
Lewis agreed, laying out a course of action.
(article continues below photo)
“In the near term, we are going to look at sign improvements that we can do right away. It’s going to warn trucks that there is a tipping hazard,” Lewis said. The sign with a flashing beacon will alert truck drivers to a lower speed limit, or perhaps to use the inside lane. The speed limit won’t be changed for all drivers, but there will be a new advisory speed for trucks.
“In the longer term, we are going to look at what we call super elevation. That’s a feature like…at the raceway, they bank their curves. We will bank the curve to help the truck resist the centrifugal force that’s trying to push them off the curve,” Lewis said. “That’s a longer process, and we are certainly going to look at what the funding options are to make sure we can do that as soon as possible.”
The new signs should up within a few months, and a funding source for banking the curve should also be identified, the engineer said.
McCall said he was pleased that FDOT was taking a serious look at what he considers a serious – and potentially life-threatening – situation.
(article continues below photo)
Tuesday morning’s overturned truck (pictured above) was hauling bales of cotton. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 30-year old Aref Alday of Miami traveled off the roadway, causing his 2000 Freightliner semi-truck to overturn. He was cited for careless driving. Aref Alday was not injured; his passenger, 53-year old Amnerys Alday was transported to Jay Hospital with minor injuries.
Eight days prior, the truck that overturned in the curve was hauling logs, a previous accident involved a truckload of peanuts.
McCall and Lewis agreed that the potential exists for a much more serious rollover accident, perhaps involving a fuel truck or a chemical tanker. And the city has spent somewhere near a quarter million dollars to make repairs to a sewage lift station located in the curve to repair damage from overturned trucks.
Pictured: Century Mayor Freddie McCall (blue shirt) meet with Florida Department of Transportation Traffic Safety Engineer Michael Lewis (yellow vest) and FDOT Traffic Safety Specialist Matt King about a dangerous curve on North Century Boulevard. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
16 Responses to “FDOT Engineer Plots Action Plan To Remedy Hwy 29 Truck Rollovers”
That road was probably originally built in the 30s to 50s and has only been repaved since. Roads were built then high in the middle so the water would run equally to each side. Vehicles back then were much heavier and ran a lot slower(well most of them).
The first thing the idiots need to do is take down the sign in front of Panhandle that says “trucks use right lane”……………………..it took a rocket scientist to put that sign up
For as long as I remember this curve has always had that outward lean to it. We’re talking over fifty years! Never could figure out why it was ever built that way.
Went past there this morning & early pm……..no signs,no police no nothing. I guess they think ignoring the problem will make it go away ?
Cheap solution: A “No Trucks” sign. Begin ticketing 18 wheelers that come thru. On whatever road they use to bypass Century, start a toll, the city can use the money, no doubt. Problem solved & Century picks up some much needed revenue!
Take the crown out of that part of the road raise the north bound lane an lower the south bound lane. It don’t make much since to be leaning to the outside in a curve!!!!!!
Glad to see they are taking action. I drive through that spot 5 miles under speed limit empty . But 10 to 15 miles under speed limit when loaded. It is a flawed design and not a good feeling going around that curve you can definitely feel the load shifting at a low speed. Warning drivers with lower speeds would help, hopefully other drivers will heed warning. I feel 20 MPH speed zone would address the problem.
If a few warning signs are going to take “a few months”, you can just imagine how many years or maybe decades it will take to make substantial physical changes to the road!
LOL, too funny, our tax dollars at work………………NOT.
Why don’t they put a bag over the new sign that directs truck to use that outside lane? (Or put a piece of tape over the word “right” and write the word “left” on the tape) Its so new, you can see the dirt around where they just put it in, After they installed that, two rollovers. 1 plus 1 equals 2. Doesn’t take a genius. Hope truckers still get on CB radios and talk. “Breaker Breaker, Caution in C town..Keep the Shiny Side Up and the Rubber side down!!!!”
That’s right FL Girl
Hundreds go thru there weekly
And 2 have turned over. ???
well they can always stop them from useing that rout and go nthrue atmore till every thiing is fixed in century
They’re going to put training wheels on the trucks.
Careful needing to make a left hand turn there Into Grocery Store and West State Line Road with all the traffic directed to use the left lane. Where is FHP???? I often see they are investigating but were that actually there? Even the rear end collision, I saw private citizens, a firetrucks and EMS when I went by.
Wow! A few months to put warning signs out??? This should be done today to prevent possible loss of life. No excuse in taking a few months for a warning sign!
I don’t understand the careless driving ticket. Take a good look at that curve it’s a short curve and it’s slightly banked which allows the trucks to lean. If he was going over the speed limit maybe the ticket. A programmable flashing sign could be installed today with message telling the truckers what to do.
The warning signs will be up in a few months?
There are workers that work for the DOT every day, how long can it possibly take to get a couple of signs printed and planted in the ground?! It’s not a newly designed warning sign for roadways.
Two accidents in a week, and trucks travel that route daily from I-65 down to Pensacola or to I-10.
The truck driver’s life, the lives of other motorist and repeat costs for repairs to the sewage lift station, not to mention the roadway being blocked for hours possibly preventing first responders from getting to where they need to be.
Shouldn’t this request be prioritized, for the half a days work that it would involve?