MEC&F Expert Engineers : 04/01/15

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

TRACTOR TRAILER TRUCK FAILED TO YIELD TO A MUCH BIGGER AND MUCH STRONGER TRAIN AND WAS CRASHED IN GEORGIA.




APRIL 1, 2015

TRENTON, DADE COUNTY, GEORGIA

A tractor trailer and a train have collided at a crossing near Highway 11 and Harris Road in Trenton in Dade County.

Dispatchers tell Channel 3 that there are no injuries.

The driver was crossing over the railroad heading toward Highway 11 when it was hit by the train.   The truck, carrying wooden pallets, received extensive damage.

There are no cross bars or warning lights at this intersection. 

Georgia State Patrol tells our crew on the scene, the driver will be cited for not yielding.

What is wrong with these truck and car drivers messing up with the trains?  Are they looking for trouble? Do they have a death wish?  Get their licenses immediately.  They should not be driving on the road.

CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR ORDERS WAY-OVERDUE MANDATORY WATER RESTRICTIONS. TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE.







APRIL 1, 2015

ECHO LAKE, Calif. (AP)

California Gov. Jerry Brown ordered officials Wednesday to impose statewide mandatory water restrictions for the first time in history as surveyors found the lowest snow level in the Sierra Nevada snowpack in 65 years of record-keeping.
Standing in dry, brown grass at a site that he said normally would be snow-covered this time of year, Brown announced he had signed an executive order requiring the State Water Resources Control Board to implement measures in cities and towns to cut the state's overall water usage by 25 percent compared with 2013 levels.

The move will affect residents, businesses, farmers and other users.

"We're in a historic drought and that demands unprecedented action," Brown said at a news conference at Echo Summit in the Sierra Nevada, where state water officials found no snow on the ground for the first time in their manual survey of the snowpack. "We have to pull together and save water in every way we can."

Brown's order follows previous cutbacks imposed by the water board. It will require campuses, golf courses, cemeteries and other large landscapes to significantly cut water use; direct local governments to replace 50 million square feet of lawns throughout the state with drought-tolerant landscaping; and create a temporary rebate program for consumers who replace old water-sucking appliances with more efficient ones.

"We're in a new era; the idea of your nice little green grass getting water every day, that's going to be a thing of the past," Brown said.

The order calls on local water agencies to implement tiered water pricing that charges higher rates as more water is used and requires agricultural users to report more water use information to state regulators.

Brown's office said that would boost the state's ability to enforce laws against illegal water diversions and water waste.

The order also prohibits new homes and developments from using drinkable water for irrigation if the structures lack water-efficient drip systems. In addition, the watering of decorative grasses on public street medians is banned.

The snowpack has been in decline all year, and Wednesday's survey showed the statewide snow water is equivalent to 5 percent of the historical average for April 1 and the lowest for that date since the state began record-keeping in 1950.

Snow supplies about a third of the state's water, and a lower snowpack means less water in California reservoirs to meet demand in summer and fall. There was no snow at the site of Wednesday's manual survey near Echo Summit, about 90 miles east of Sacramento.

"It is such an unprecedented lack of snow, it is way, way below records," said Frank Gehrke, chief of snow surveys for the California Department of Water Resources.

Brown previously declared a drought emergency and stressed the need for sustained water conservation, but the Democratic governor has come under increasing pressure to be more aggressive as the state enters its fourth year of drought.

In the past year, the state water board has imposed mandatory water-saving restrictions on urban users that prohibit sprinklers running off onto pavement, bans residents from watering lawns two days after rain, and bars restaurants from serving water unless customers ask for it.

Wednesday's order has fewer provisions addressing the state's biggest user of water: agriculture.

There is no water reduction target for farmers, who have let thousands of acres go fallow as the state and federal government slashed water deliveries from reservoirs. Instead, the order requires many agricultural water suppliers to submit detailed drought management plans that include how much water they have and what they're doing to scale back.

After the previous drought, state officials acknowledge that some suppliers did not submit similar required plans in 2009. Mark Cowin, director of the Department of Water Resources, said the state will provide money to make sure the plans are written and may penalize those who do not comply.

The state is not aiming to go after water-guzzling crops such as almonds and rice the same way Brown has condemned lawns.

"We're not at the point yet where we are going to declare the irrigation of any particular crop 'waste and unreasonable use,'" Cowin said.

This is too little, too late:  they need to eliminate all these year-round outdoor pools and eliminate all lawn watering for few years.  The water is much valuable than the beautification of the cities, as least until the water levels recover.

A ROLLOVER ACCIDENT INVOLVING A TRACTOR TRAILER AND AT LEAST SIX VEHICLES ON THE TURNPIKE, WEDNESDAY, WAS THE RESULT OF WHEEL BARREL FALLING OFF A PICKUP TRUCK; 2 HOSPITALIZED





APRIL 1, 2015

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN)

According to Florida Highway Patrol crash scene investigators, a rollover accident involving a tractor trailer and at least six vehicles on the Turnpike, Wednesday, was the result of dangerous road debris.

At around 8 a.m., an 18-wheeler was traveling northbound when it appears to have lost control, crossed over the median and into oncoming traffic on the southbound lanes. The truck landed on its side, partially on top of one vehicle. Another vehicle T-boned the truck.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers responded. After an investigation, they determined someone driving a pickup truck lost their load, which caused the chain reaction crash that had the highway shutdown for hours. "A pickup truck was traveling northbound on the Turnpike with an unsecured load," said Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Joe Sanchez. "It had a wheel barrel, and that wheel barrel came off the truck. That's what caused this whole havoc out here."

The truck also hit a van head-on, leaving a woman trapped inside. Rescue crews successfully cut her out with the Jaws of Life, and transported her to Kendall Regional Medical Center in critical condition. One other person had to be transported to the hospital as well.

Southbound traffic was shut down at Southwest Eighth Street for several hours as clean up crews began to clear the debris. All lanes were reopened just before 12 p.m.

Police are now on the lookout for the the pickup truck that caused this mess. "We have cameras out here on the Turnpike," said Sanchez. "Anytime you pass a toll, it takes a picture of your car or your truck. Clearly, we're going to look at all those pictures, determine which vehicle came across, and if there is a pickup truck with a wheel barrel, and we do have a picture of the tag, I think the investigation is gonna lead us possibly to an arrest."

Crews are still working on fixing the guard rails along Southwest Eighth Street on the Turnpike. The investigation is ongoing.

CONSTRUCTION WORKER DIES IN 6-STORY FALL IN BRIGHTON BEACH, IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK







APRIL 1, 2015

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK (CBSNEWYORK/AP)

A construction worker died Wednesday after falling six stories in Brooklyn.

The 54-year-old worker was pronounced dead at the scene after tumbling off a scaffold on 360 Neptune Avenue in Brighton Beach at around 11:30 a.m., The Wall Street Journal reported.   

The VDA Construction Corporation, a general contractor out of Springfield Township, New Jersey, runs the site.  They will be in real trouble, as the worker who died did not have proper fall protection.

He has been identified by police as Vidal Sanchez-Roman of Brooklyn. 

The medical examiner will determine the official cause of his death. Police said a preliminary investigation showed it was an accident.
RIP, amigo.

WORKER AIRLIFTED AFTER BEING INJURED IN THE FIRST QUALITY ANDERSON CO. PLANT IN SOUTH CAROLINA







APRIL 1, 2015

ANDERSON, SC (FOX CAROLINA)

One person was airlifted from the First Quality plant on Masters Boulevard in Anderson early Wednesday morning after suffering an injury, according to a First Quality spokesperson.

Emergency dispatchers said EMS was dispatched to the plant just after 1 a.m. and a medical helicopter was requested a short time later.

Dispatchers said the patient was alert and breathing when the helicopter took off.

A First Quality spokesperson said details about the injury could not be released but that the incident was being investigated.

"Safety is of the utmost importance for First Quality and we will take all necessary measures to ensure a similar incident does not reoccur," said spokesperson Moshe Oppenheim.

Oppenheim said First Quality was hopeful the employee would make a full recovery.