We loaded up Friday....since the Job Site had been shut down for a few
days due to bad weather I
saw no reason to get in any big rush. I decided to leave bright and
early Saturday morning. Three other
trucks had the same idea...we'd all be leaving out about the same time.
We were up and at 'em about sunup when Murphy noticed that things were
going TOO well. He had to fix that
so.........Floyd's alternator quit. It took him until about tenish to
get that fixed so we took out. The other three truck
had already gone.
The truck run better. I had had the radiator flushed and steam cleaned
so I didn't have the cooling issue that
I'd had before. We rolled right up TransMountain at over 20mph.......as
opposed to 10 the last time.
At the bottom of TransMountain we encountered an unnecessary risk....again.
"We" (the taxpayers) "give"(are taxed ruiniously) the state gobs
(billllions and billllllions...in total...not just roads) of money.
With this money it supposedly buys the latest and greatest data
management equipment and hires competent employees. The end result is
supposedly a database of all bridge heights and other pertinent
information necessary to plan a route which maximizes safety and
effeciency for overdimensional movement thruout the state. Right?
Ahem.
So there's this bridge at the bottom of the TransMountain. The permit
says take a right hand turn...go a few miles...go under a bridge that's
marked as TOO LOW to fit...come back to where we are now but on the
other side of this TO LOW to fit bridge...make a right hand turn and
keep going.
Now let's make things clear here. I'm (meaning my truck/trailer and
load) over a hundred foot long...about 140,000 lbs gross weight and
almost seventeen foot tall. VERY TOP HEAVY. Turning corners is
contraindicated in that it is inherently more dangerous than going
straight. BAD THINGS can happen on turns. The equipment is stressed
and is
more likely to break, "fourwheelers" (millie minivan mom in particular)
gets impatient with how long it takes and do stupidly dangerous
things,(I mean....you know...after all....Walmart has a special) the
rig could roll over if it's too tight a turn..."stuff" (street signs,
people, cars, pets and plants) can get
run over....Bad Things.
Turns are to be avoided if possible.
Unnecessary turns = unnecessary risk.
So...rather than make four turns and go under a too low bridge...why not
just go under THIS too low bridge?
Too low = too low...right? If one will work why not the other?
Except it's NOT too low. We knew this. Whole inches to spare.
So...we saved time and decreased risk.
That was once. Twice was where we did it again in Vega.
Vega was silly. It was marked at 15 ft. 3 inches. I crept under with a
load that I personally measured at 16 foot 10 inches.
I can see the bridge height sign being off an inch or three...but more
than a foot?
So...that saved us about two hours....and a LOT of risk.
We toodled along. Yesterday we're making the final run on in toward the
jobsite and two of the guys who left about four hours before we
did...catch us.
Our route is better you see. Me and Floyd "tweaked" it. Cut down on
turns mostly.
So I stopped at Hereford Bar &Grill yesterday. Had supper....had a good
time...visited with the locals and did some PR work...spent the night.
Rolled on in here this morning.....
I'm on the pad site now....waiting.
Funny thing....three of the guys who left before us Saturday are behind
me right now....waiting. They didn't gain much.
I counted maybe twenty trucks.........waiting. Some have been here for
DAYS.
Good thing I've got snacks and books.
*******************************************************************************
I got unloaded. Pretty day. Lots and Lots and Lots of trucks.
So what's the rush? If I hurry back to El Paso I just get to wait to
load....
I toodled on....I'm in Ordway now. It's understandable if you don't
know where Ordway is. Look it up on a map of colorado. It's at the
intersection of Hiway 96 and 71. A more "out in the boondocks" place is
unlikely. But it DOES
have internet. I'm amazed.
Also telephone...which I didn't have up until I got here.
El Paso just called ....
"Where you at" Pat Asked
"Ordway"...I said
"Ordway?....never heard of it. When you gonna be here?" he said.
"Late tonight or tomorrow." I said
"Great...that'll be just perfect. I'm covered up with trucks today" he
said.
Hmmmmm.....where have I heard that song before?
Oh well....I'm outa here.
EvMick
EvMick
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