Cal Poly’s quest: Stopping trucks from being decapitated by bridge

It’s not a good day when a city bus driver nearly decapitates the top of a double-decker bus or the operator of a big rig hauling mattresses clotheslines the roof of the semitrailer.

Both incidents took place this year at the Highland Drive overpass near Cal Poly.

Even a truck carrying marijuana didn’t take proper precautions to avoid the bridge, leading to a smash-and-dash debacle. The truck was later located in the South County.

The university’s goal is to prevent those kinds of headaches, for vehicles and drivers alike, by adding new signage and installations that will alert those behind the wheel to the 12-foot, 6-inch clearance that has claimed 26 vehicles as victims in the past decade.

Repeatedly, drivers have slammed into the bridge, causing hang-ups like the three high-profile crashes this year.

“There have been a variety of causes for the collisions that have taken place at this particular site, including drivers who were distracted, talking on cellphones, or who just ignored or failed to see the posted warning signs,” Cal Poly spokesman Matt Lazier said.

Clearance signs on the bridge now forewarn drivers of the height limit, while blinking warning lights and a chain stretched across the road at the same height as the bridge also aim to stop an impending miscue.

Last week, however, a Tribune photographer discovered a 25 mph speed limit sign blocks the view of the blinking light, which wasn’t blinking anyway.

The university is looking at installing posts with tubes suspended horizontally above the roadway at the same height as the bridge to warn drivers of the trestle ahead, said Scott Loosley, Cal Poly’s director of operations. The tubes would be hung 90 to 180 feet in front of the bridge on both sides with the idea that the bars would smack tall vehicles and warn drivers to avoid a full-scale smashup at the bridge.

New temporary signage at intersections leading to the bridge is expected to go in before classes begin Sept. 22.

Cal Poly officials also are considering adding bigger warning signs and flashing lights mounted on the bridge to alert drivers of the clearance height.

The trestle supports the railroad on the west end of campus. The bridge is owned and maintained by Union Pacific, while Cal Poly administers the roadway beneath it.

“The road is the height that it is because of Brizzolara Creek nearby,” Loosley said. “The road can’t go any lower or there would be flooding of the roadway.”

Each time a crash occurs, Union Pacific officials must come out to inspect the bridge and ensure its safety for train crossings. Union Pacific officials have deemed it safe to operate, despite the repeated crashes.

“If it were unsafe in any way, we wouldn’t be running trains over it,” Union Pacific spokesman Justin Jacobs said.

This story was originally published September 4, 2016 at 8:48 PM with the headline "Cal Poly’s quest: Stopping trucks from being decapitated by bridge."