After 37 bridge strikes in the last decade, the overpass with the worst bridge strike record in Spokane is finally experiencing an upgrade.
The Stevens Avenue bridge in Spokane, Washington has just received a new height sensory system located at Stevens and First. The city has similar plans for the Division and Sprague overpass in 2019.
According to KHQ, the new system consists of sensors that detect if your trailer is over height. For the Stevens Avenue bridge, that height is 11′ 6″. If your load exceeds that height, lights flash to alert you. The lights are accompanied with signs that read “over height when flashing.”
The city hopes that the new system will grab the attention of drivers and give them more time to react and avoid a collision.
Although the system runs a hefty $30,000 for a one direction sensor and double that for a two way sensor, City Of Spokane Communications Director Brian Coddington believes that it will save them in the long run.
“It does save us time and money,” he says. “Obviously, whenever there’s a collision there, it involves a police response, traffic control, so there’s time the police are tied up there. But this allows us to save that time and money and most importantly keep traffic flowing there.”
The city hopes to add the technology to ten other bridges in the future.
