O/T: M5 East tunnel closed
 

Slightly off topic I know but just in case anyone is heading out to the airport this afternoon - M5 East tunnel eastbound is closed after a truck carrying earthmoving equipment tried to excavate the ceiling of the tunnel! :eek:

Saw it on the news...I think it might be closed into tomorrow as well.

Traffic gridlock along King Georges Road and surrounding areas. Look me an hour to drive from Hurstville to Burwood, when it normally takes half an hour.

Height barrier
 

Most tunnels these days have a height barrier well ahead of the main entrance, so that anything oversize is snagged and alarms triggered before something like this can occur.

I wonder why M5 didn't have this or, if it did, why it didn't work as planned.

On the news this morning, it said the driver could be fined $55K.

That's getting off lightly.

but I like the cross harbour when tripped, a shower of water is dropped fromt eh roof and stop sign shown by laser light in it

The Softstop Barrier System produces a pseudo holographic image that appears to float in mid air, commanding the attention of the motorist making the 'STOP' message impossible to miss.

http://www.laservision.com.au/page.a...ubsec=Softstop

Some pics from last night.Keep in mind i was using 2 mega pixel phone camera.:D

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4067/...0826980a_b.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4040/...58cfbfb7_b.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4043/...2831ff9b_b.jpg

Hmm ...
 

Seeing the offending excavator for the first time creates in my mind the possibility that when originally loaded on its carrier the arm might not have been extended. What if it had somehow extended slightly in transit and perhaps been raised further by initial contact with an early warning gantry thus ensuring that it was raised too high to fit into the main tunnel?

Just a thought - no doubt the investigation will reveal what really happened but something along those lines seems to me a more plausible explanation than a driver ignoring all warnings and continuing at full speed into the tunnel knowingly overheight.