How many times does a truck have to smash into a low bridge before something is done to stop it happening again?
That’s what Maribyrnong council has asked the Andrews government. It is fed up with seeing over-height vehicles hit a bridge in the densely populated heart of its community several times a year.
The Napier Street rail bridge in Footscray suffers more hits from heavy vehicles than any other bridge in Melbourne and has been labelled “a time bomb” that will eventually result in the death of a pedestrian.
It has been the scene of 43 serious smashes involving over-height vehicles since 2010.
The most recent collision was on April 21.
In some instances, shipping containers and other heavy goods have crashed onto the footpath, crushing fences and street signs. The smashes can also cause severe train delays on the busy Werribee/Williamstown rail lines because Metro must assess the bridge for structural damage each time.
About 3000 trucks travel beneath the bridge each day, often transporting containers to and from the Port of Melbourne, mixing with foot traffic in a dense neighbourhood that includes a university campus, town hall, apartments and a primary school.
The council has appealed to the Andrews government to fix the “extremely dangerous situation”, passing a motion on Tuesday night calling for a series of urgent safety measures to be taken.
“These really serious accidents are happening way too often, it’s a bit of a time bomb . . . hopefully, we can avoid a fatality but it is poised for a very serious accident and injury to people,” mayor Nam Quach said.
The council wants height detection cameras, better signage and a physical warning system similar to those at road tunnel entrances such as CityLink.
It also wants bigger fines for drivers who hit the bridge and an extension of night truck curfews that apply to some roads in the area to include Napier and Buckley streets.
Cr Quach said VicRoads had known about the issue for many years but had failed to take effective action.
“We’ve had to escalate it because nothing has happened,” he said.
Council representatives met Roads Minister Luke Donnellan on Wednesday to plead their case for change.
Mr Donnellan made no commitments but his spokeswoman said they discussed “long-term solutions to oversized trucks hitting Napier Street bridge”.
“VicRoads will, in the meantime, continue to investigate short-term solutions to this issue,” she said.
VicRoads’ acting director of road operations, Keith Weegberg, said the authority recognised community concerns about over-height trucks hitting bridges and would consider the council’s proposal for height detection cameras in Napier Street.
“We are continually investigating all options available to reduce the number and severity of incidents, including improving the height detection system across the road network,” Mr Weegberg said.
The council noted in its motion that as well trucks hitting the bridge “approximately twice per month”, many truck drivers also attempted to reverse in Napier Street and drive across the median strip once the driver realised the bridge was too low.
“It’s rogue type of behaviour which doesn’t need to happen and we can mitigate against it,” Cr Quach said.
Melbourne’s worst rail bridges for truck strikes, 2010-2015
1. Napier Street, Footscray 43 strikes
2. Racecourse Road, Newmarket 23 strikes
3. Warrigal Road, Chadstone 21 strikes
4. Wantirna Road, Ringwood 15 strikes
5. Merri Parade, Merri 15 strikes
6. Warrandyte Road, Ringwood 12 strikes
7. Spencer/Flinders streets, city 11 strikes
8. Alexander Avenue, South Yarra 10 strikes
9. Mount Alexander Road, Essendon 9 strikes
10. John Street, Lilydale 8 strikes
Source: Metro Trains
This story first appeared in The Age
