Trucks hitting bridges continues to plague Houston freeways
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- We've seen it time and time again
A truck slams into a bridge, blocking traffic and causing damage.
"It was over-height, it struck the bridge and got stuck," said TxDOT spokesperson Danny Perez.
Perez says there are a number of situations that could cause this chaos, most often a company doesn't get the proper permits to pass through Houston, basically driving blind through the core of the city with an overheight load.
"When you damage a bridge, that means you could impact the concrete and it could fall to mainlanes below," Perez said. "It could be disastrous and it could lead to a serious injury or a fatal situation."
In 2018, there were 28 reported bridge hits due to over-height loads. This year, there have already been seven.
The most recent incident shutting down the highway after a driver got stuck with a spool under the 610 overpass on the Southwest Freeway.
TxDOT has a detection system for anyone with a load that won't make it through the core of downtown.
The system is on the east side at I-10 westbound at Mercury and on the west side at I-10 eastbound at Wirt Road.
"It will set the detector off and then there is a message that will display that will say "Exit now" to let these folks know you are over-height you are not going to make it through," Perez said.
Through March 2, the total number of alarms for the year on the east side is almost 2,000 and over 3,000 on the west side.
Perez says this is one more reason to keep your eyes on the road at all times.
"Right behind that vehicle, if that's an over-height vehicle and that vehicle gets stuck, then that means it is going to immediately stop and you are going to crash into that vehicle if you are not paying attention, if you are not focused on the road," Perez said.
