A stretch of Harrison Street was closed Thursday afternoon after a piece of falling debris from the Washington Street bridge replacement project struck a vehicle and smashed the windshield.
Just after noon, the Jamestown Police Department stationed officers at the intersection of South Main and Washington streets and used barricades to block the turn lane on South Main Street so motorists could not make a left onto Harrison Street. Officers were also stationed at the intersection of Harrison and Main streets and on Steele Street to direct motorists away from the area.
But many motorists failed to honor the blockade, forcing the JPD to call in additional personnel. Some motorists traveling south on South Main Street toward Brooklyn Square turned into the Friendly's Restaurant parking lot in an attempt to go around the intersection and travel down Harrison Street toward the bridge. Others simply drove around the police vehicles, barricades and orange traffic cones, often shouting at the officers.
Police were forced to close a stretch of Harrison Street after a 1997 Oldsmobile Aurora was struck by falling debris Thursday morning.
The driver of the vehicle, who asked that her name not be used, told The Post-Journal she heard ''a huge chunk of something'' hit her car as she drove beneath the Washington Street bridge on her way to work at about 9 a.m.
As part of the demolition project, construction crews on Thursday morning shut down one lane of Harrison Street beneath the bridge so a dump truck could be parked there and filled with demolition debris from above. Flagmen were stationed at the intersection to direct traffic at the time the woman made a right-hand turn off Barrett Avenue and drove beneath the bridge.
''The flagman waved me on, so I just kept driving,'' she said. ''I went under the bridge and I heard something, a huge chunk of something, hit my car.''
The chunk of concrete smashed the vehicle's windshield on the passenger side and left a grapefruit-sized web of cracks in the glass. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at approximately $350, the woman said.
''Actually, the construction company was very nice about it,'' the woman said. ''They said to have their insurance company billed for it. They were very nice and cooperative about the whole thing.''
Susan Surdej, the state Department of Transportation's public information officer, said demolition debris hitting vehicles is ''not something that usually happens.''
''As I understand it - and this is coming to me from someone else because I'm not there - a piece of concrete fell and bounced off something and then hit the woman's vehicle,'' she said. ''That's certainly not something that usually happens.''
While Harrison Street was closed to motorists, tractor-trailer traffic was allowed to continue using the road, which is a state detour for truck traffic for the duration of the bridge replacement project since those vehicles cannot use North Main Street or Foote Avenue because of low bridges.
There were two other property-damage accidents in the area of the street closure. Traffic congestion at Brooklyn Square forced ALSTAR EMS to use an alternate route during a response to the Riverwalk Center.
NO NET USED TO CATCH DEBRIS
The incident raised questions over why construction crews had not previously installed a net beneath the bridge to prevent debris from falling on motorists as traffic passed beneath the bridge on Harrison and Steele streets, which are part of the detour route for tractor-trailer traffic.
Both Ms. Surdej and Steve Rudnicki, a state DOT engineer in charge of the bridge replacement project, said the installation of nets to catch debris is not standard procedure for bridge demolition projects.
''Using a net before demolition gets started (over a road) is not something we'd do for every bridge project,'' Ms. Surdej said. ''It just depends on the logistics of the situation.''
The state DOT does sometimes use nets when bridge demolition projects are ongoing. Decisions on whether to use a net depend upon the type and location of the demolition project and the traffic flow situation, she said.
''In this case, we had one lane (of Harrison Street) shut down while demolition was ongoing,'' she said. ''Logistically, putting a net under the bridge - I spoke with Steve (Rudnicki) and I was told that by the time we were able to get a net installed, that portion of the demolition would be complete.''
PROJECT IS ON SCHEDULE
Crews have been working to remove layers of asphalt from the bridge, Ms. Surdej said. This week, demolition efforts have focused upon removing the bridge's concrete decking, a process that was completed Thursday afternoon.
''As soon as the decking is removed, we'll start removing the steel beams,'' she said. ''We expect that Harrison Street will have a lane restriction and a flagging operation on at least one day next week. In about four weeks, they'll start driving piles for the new bridge.''
The $15 million bridge replacement project is expected to be complete by October. The bridge closed Feb. 22.
''In about 4-6 weeks, people are going to start seeing a lot happening out there,'' Ms. Surdej said. ''This is a very fast-moving operation. We're definitely on track schedule-wise.''
