I-35 Bridge Height Questions After North Texan Killed In Accident
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ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - All new questions surrounding the height of an Interstate-35 bridge and the deadly crash that happened when it collapsed, after being hit by an 18-wheeler.
It appears the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) may not have followed its own recommendations.
The crash in Salado, about 40 miles north of Austin, still had the interstate closed late Thursday night.
Arlington resident Clark Davis was killed when the oversized tractor trailer hit a beam being used to build the bridge.
The accident happened around 11 a.m. but when CBS 11 News spoke with Davis' mother, Pam Evans, she said she didn't learn of her son's death until after she arrived home, after 5 p.m.
Evans said law enforcement had notified her son's girlfriend – the mother of his 7-year-old daughter.
Thursday night Evans shared pictures of her son with CBS 11 News.
Clark Davis, 32, was working and driving to Austin to make a delivery when the accident happened. He was headed south on I-35 through Salado at 11:15 Thursday morning, that's when state troopers say an 18-wheeler hit the support beam.
The beam collapsed onto Davis' pickup truck and he was killed instantly.
According to state reports, the bridge was just half an inch over 14 feet.
Interstate highways in rural areas generally provide 16 feet of clearance and a TxDOT manual shows that a clearance should never be less than 14'6" – 5 ½ inches less than the bridge in Salado provided.
The CBS television affiliate in Waco reported that the roadway was eventually going to be lowered to meet the requirement.
Officials with TxDOT say there were warning signs posted, alerting drivers of the low clearance, starting two miles before the bridge and up to the last exit.
Those who spoke with CBS 11 Thursday night describe Davis as kind and generous. His mother said she had just spoken with her son on Sunday.
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