A man drives into a bridge and a city grinds to a halt. Such is the impact of a crash on Auckland's vulnerable motorway system. The truck-driver whose load smacked into the Penrose overbridge on Monday was the second operator this year to collect the concrete beam, and the 10th since 2013. There is little room for error when passing beneath the heavily-reinforced structure, designed to act as a first line of defence against over-height loads. Heavy traffic regulations put the maximum height above ground of a load at 4.25m and permits an additional 25mm for tarpaulins, lashings, straps, chains, covers and similar temporary tie-downs. The 10 tonne digger that hit the Penrose bridge had a 4.57m clearance to negotiate. Flashing lights on the overpass should have tipped the driver off that he had a problem, but for whatever reason the early warning system did not register with the contractor.
The costly collision has raised issues of liability. The trucking company could get a repair bill for the bridge, but the city wears the cost of disruption.
Michael Barnett, head of the Chamber of Commerce, argues this is wrong and believes that a level of accountability would ensure that heavy loads met the physical limits of the motorway network.
A number of solutions have been suggested. The road beneath the bridge could be lowered, or the overpass raised. These options would not come cheaply, nor would a requirement for trucking firms to hold liability policies to cover themselves in the event of a bridge strike claim. But clearly some response is necessary, given the way an accident at any of the sensitive points of the system tends to ripple across the entire network.
The transport industry needs to lift its game. The overpass is a known hazard, and its clearance plainly indicated and familiar to users of the Southern Motorway.
