County Officials Studying Trucks, Bridges

— A discussion about buying new fire engines for volunteer fire departments has led Benton County officials to study the county’s bridges to see if they can handle the increasing load of heavy vehicles.

At A Glance

Fire Trucks

Marshal Watson, Benton County emergency services administrator, said the new fire service vehicles the county plans to buy in 2013 are combination pumper-tanker trucks that have a 3,000-gallon tank mounted on a vehicle that also carries a 1,250-gallons-per-minute pump giving the one vehicle the capability of two. The loaded weight of the new vehicles is about 24 tons, which exceeds the carrying capacity of many county bridges.

Source: Staff Report

“We’re looking at it,” County Judge Bob Clinard said of the bridge review. “We need to do due diligence.”

The need to examine the bridges came up during a recent meeting of the Quorum Court’s Committee of 13. The justices of the peace were discussing plans to buy a pair of fire trucks for the rural fire service and a question of how much the trucks will weigh — a loaded weight was put at 24 to 28 tons — prompted someone to ask whether the county’s bridges can safely handle the load.

Justice of the Peace Dan Douglas said the question of bridge safety needs to be examined before the county embarks on a major program of buying larger firefighting apparatus. The two trucks included in the 2013 budget carry a cost of about $450,000, and Douglas said the county needs to be sure that’s a good use of tax dollars.

“The situation is that the bridges we have are the bridges we have,” Douglas said. “That’s not going to change. The county, even though it’s a fire apparatus, we still have to follow the laws and follow the rules. We want the fire trucks to get to the fire and not be sitting on a broken-down bridge. This is a new type of truck that we are not familiar with.”

Marshal Watson, emergency services administrator, said the new vehicles weigh just under 24 tons when fully loaded. The 3,000-gallon tankers the county purchased in the past weigh about 22 tons, he said, as does the typical fire truck used by municipal fire departments. A typical ambulance weighs about 3 tons, Watson said.

Watson said buying combination pumper-tanker trucks could allow the county to reduce the number of vehicles in the county’s fire service fleet from more than 80 to about 50.

Scott Stober, public services administrator, said the Road Department is compiling a list of the county’s bridges, including concrete culverts and low-water crossings, to determine how many bridges have been rated for their weight-carrying capacity and what the design capacity of those bridges are.

Stober said the county builds different types of bridges, but a “typical” bridge is built to design standards that should be able to handle loads of up to about 22 tons.

“The smaller stuff costs around $100,000 each,” Stober said. “That’s for a 60-foot bridge and if the county does all the work. The weight limit on those are about 22 tons, which is the same as similar state bridges.”

Stober said the state does bridge inspections periodically and sets weight limits according to the condition of the individual bridge. He said there are smaller or older bridges with limits from 10 tons up to the normal 22 tons. Some very small bridges can be rated for as little as 3 to 6 tons, he said.

Watson said the state has rated a small number of bridges in the county. He said nine bridges meet all of the weight requirements of the county’s fire service apparatus. Two bridges meet an 18-ton weight requirement, while 15 rated bridges officially meet none of the weight requirements for county fire service apparatus.

Clinard discussed the question of bridge weight limits with David Ball of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department’s bridge division. Ball said he wasn’t aware of any studies or reports on the maximum capacity of bridge designs and whether a bridge rated for 22-ton vehicle loads can safely carry larger loads. Ball said the weight signs posted on bridges are regulatory signs and drivers are liable if they cross a bridge with a load that exceeds the posted limit.

“You cross at your own risk,” Ball said.

Justice of the Peace Tom Allen said the county needs to consider the risks involved as part of the decision on buying the fire trucks.

“It doesn’t matter what the cost is if someone gets hurt or killed,” Allen said. “It may be time for a discussion to identify the bridges that are in need of replacement or repair. That’s definitely an issue we need to talk about. It’s something we need to at least understand where we are.”

Clinard said the county can’t monitor activity at bridges, but it’s obvious traffic is increasing and the volume of heavy truck traffic is growing as part of the overall growth in the county.

“We have to ask ourselves are we doing the right thing?” Clinard said. “Is it safe? Is it smart?”

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