NTSB issues safety alert on oversize loads on bridges
Following two oversize load crashes that led to partial bridge collapses, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued a Safety Alert to remind motor carriers of the importance of obtaining permits and carefully reviewing routes before transporting oversize loads.
The Safety Alert, “The Impact of Oversize Loads on Our Nation’s Bridges,” cites the May 2013 crash in which a truck transporting an oversize load struck the Interstate 5 Skagit River Bridge near Mount Vernon, Wash., resulting in the collapse of a bridge span. It also cites the March 2015 crash in Salado, Texas, involving a truck carrying an oversize load on Interstate 35 that struck concrete bridge beams of an overhead highway bridge. The beams collapsed and fell into the travel lanes of the interstate, resulting in one motorist fatality and three injuries.