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Technology: Muizenberg's truck-eating bridge going hungry thanks to 3D laser detector, Cape Town
She's affectionately known locally as “Bridget” or “Biddy” and even has her own Facebook page. Muizenberg's famous "truck-eating bridge" has become famous (or perhaps infamous) over the years, for the number of trucks which get stuck within her confines. But now, it seems, she may have had her seemingly insatiable appetite suppressed, at least that what's the latest figures show. In 2018, the City of Cape Town installed a 3D laser detection system at the railway bridge, to prevent vehicles from crashing into it and it seems to have helped.
Recent statistics confirm that since the system was installed, the number of incidents has decreased from 43 in 2020 to 26 in 2021 and nine in the year to date. "Should it detect that a vehicle in the turning lane is higher than 2,5m from the road surface, a warning system is triggered at the intersection with Atlantic Road, a signboard with high-power LED lights will flash for about 30 seconds, indicating to the driver that their vehicle is too high to cross underneath the railway bridge," explains the City of Cape Town. Previously, drivers had even been photographed trying to deflate the tyres of their vehicles after getting caught underneath the low-level structure. “We have tried various options to reduce the frequency of incidents involving over-height trucks from crashing into the bridge and the laser detection system is certainly the best solution”, said Councillor Rob Quintas, Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility at the City of Cape Town. “Before this system was in place, a number of trucks got stuck under this bridge, sometimes two trucks in one day’ added Councillor Quintas. Source: Cape Talk |
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