Would like reader feedback and thoughts on my accident on Wilson Bridge

[KLizotte]

@scorchedearth 143329 wrote:

IIRC, the initial response that we received from the authorities was that they did not see any danger posed by these expansion joints and thus, there was no remediation needed.

Perhaps a list of names of people that have fallen there would help prove our cause? There are at least three of us on this forum.

[huskerdont]

MSHA won’t even consider redesigning a road where two cyclists have been killed using a crosswalk. What do they care about a few cyclists falling over? Half of them are from Virginia anyway so it’s even less of their problem.

[Steve O]

I decided to put in a service request through the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA). What follows is the string of correspondence.

First response:

The area in question has been investigated several times for the open joints on the multi-use trail crossing the bridge. We have conducted test and had this reviewed by our traffic engineering department. At this time there is no plans to modify the bridge or joints. We have placed signs at each end of the bridge advising of the joints. If you have further questions about this I can be reached at 1-800-749-0737

William Weishaar
WWB Program Manager
District 3 Maintenance
wweishaar@sha.state.md.us

An hour later I got this from the same Mr. Weishaar:

Could you give me a call to make sure I understand exactly what you’re talking about? This is in reference to the citizens request you put in. 301-943-5968

(Me) Hello William,

Sorry I did not respond sooner. I was away on vacation last week.
I will call tomorrow, but here is a satellite shot of the location in question:

I will look into this. This is something I haven’t looked into before. I’ll get back to you.

(Me) What often happens is that people riding bikes on the curve will encounter
someone coming the other way and will turn more sharply to avoid them.
Then their tire catches in the gap and they go down. It’s a relatively common occurrence, and I know of at least 2 people who needed emergency care
One possible solution would be to add a median or planters or something that would force the bikes farther out the curve to the gap before they can turn. Then they would hit the gap perpendicular.
Should still be plenty of room for two-way traffic I think.
Thanks for looking into this

I don’t think adding an obstacle is an option. We can’t block or limit access to the walkway. It needs to be accessible by vehicles for emergencies

(Me) Hi BIll,

What I meant is something like this:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]12674[/ATTACH]
If vehicles are already able to drive on the parts to and from the curve, I don’t think something like this would limit their access. The idea here would be make it so the gap is always perpendicular to the path.
Thanks again for looking into this.

Mr. Offutt
I understand what you’re saying. And not to pass the buck but I’m pretty sure the area in question is in the pathway prior to actually getting on the Woodrow Wilson bridge. The pathway is maintained by the Nation Park services and the Bridge is maintained by SHA. So often times there is a gray area about who is responsible for what. I do question why with all the bike request and issues we have looked into over the years this is the first I’ve heard about this one. We have conducted test and studies several times about similar issues in the past. But with saying that I will pass along your concerns and we will look into what you’re suggesting. I should let you know that anything associated with such a high profile bridge and area take time and investigating before any decisions are made. Thanks again for bringing this to our attention.

(Me) Hello again,
Thank you for your prompt responses to my questions. I really appreciate your attention to this.

As part of your investigation, perhaps a first step would be to post a sign with an email address or phone number. Something like:

“If you or someone you know has crashed due to this expansion joint, please contact _____” That way, both NPS and SHA will get a better sense of the magnitude of the problem. If you get only one email in a year, then you’ll know it’s low priority. If you get several a month, then that will indicate that it’s a bigger problem.

Since I personally know of three people who have crashed there, and I only know a tiny percentage of all those who bicycle, I suspect it’s a bigger problem than SHA realizes. Most people who suffer a bicycle crash do not report it anywhere, because there is no system for doing so (unless it involves a motor vehicle, which, of course, this would not).
If there were an intersection or exit ramp that was experiencing several car crashes a month it would be looked into pretty quickly. But right now, neither SHA nor NPS has any idea if crashes are happening once a day or once a month or once a year. Without data like that, it’s hard to know how important it is to do something. A sign with contact information would help, at least a little, in providing that data.

Do you have a relationship with NPS such that you can communicate with them about something like this? Do you have a way to work cooperatively on issues of public safety like this?

This only came to my attention because of a discussion on the Washington area bike forum. One of the members posted a note that he had crashed there which prompted two of my friends to respond that they had, too. You can read the thread here if you like:
http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?10508-Would-like-reader-feedback-and-thoughts-on-my-accident-on-Wilson-Bridge

All three of these riders are highly experienced and all three were caught by surprise by the gap.

Thanks again, and please keep me informed.

Kind regards,
Steve

I followed up with one more note about 2 weeks later

(Me) Hello Bill,

I’m wondering if anything has come of your passing this along as you indicated you were doing in your note of August 25? If you wouldn’t mind letting me know who you passed this along to, I can follow up with that person myself. Or just let me know if you are aware of any actions or additional inquiries. I’d be happy to help in any way I can.

Also, did you touch base with NPS to determine whose jurisdiction this resides with? If them, would you mind providing me with a point of contact?

I never received a response to this.

[baiskeli]

That might be an expansion joint.

[dasgeh]

Thanks for being so tenacious on this. It seems like your original request was misrouted or misunderstood (“the area in question has been investigated several times for the open joints”), so it seems reasonable that they’ve received complaints and just misunderstood misrouted them.

Anyway, have you tried calling him back?

[KLizotte]

Thanks for doing this Steve! You are a bulldog.

Putting in some nice plantings (as exists at the top of the ramp) is an excellent idea from a visual and safety perspective.

I will write to the guy this weekend and let him know that I am a biker whose back wheel slipped on the joint and fell.

It’s a never ending battle….

[mohonk]

@KLizotte 148452 wrote:

Thanks for doing this Steve! You are a bulldog.

Putting in some nice plantings (as exists at the top of the ramp) is an excellent idea from a visual and safety perspective.

I will write to the guy this weekend and let him know that I am a biker whose back wheel slipped on the joint and fell.

It’s a never ending battle….

I appreciate that we have a community of cyclists in DMV who are willing to spend the energy and doggedly pursue this, months after my accident, with the powers that be. Thank you.

[Author]

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