Traffic Managment Center Instructions

Initiation of Response to bridge emergency.

1. Contact maintenance section for initial response and on scene communication with bridge response team. 

~ Attempt to get point of contact information for bridge response team to coordinate needs & resources on scene.

Example. IH-35 southbound at Cesar Chavez bridge. (Roy Jorgenson), SH-71 eastbound at SH-130 flyover (CTRMA Toll Maintenance)

2. Start call down starting at District Designee Primary. (512) 574-2603

For all Bridge Damage incidents call

District Designee Primary: (512) 574-2603

     Phone number above manned 24/7 (If unresponsive, then begin call down process)
Second Call:       (512) 673-2984      Mark Wallace            Bridge Inspection Coordinator
Third Call:           (512) 832-7152      Greg Sanders           Team Lead
Fourth Call:         (512) 484-9496      Lianxiang Du            Bridge Engineer
Fifth Call:             (512) 739-1264     Jorge Carrasco         Engineer

Sixth Call:           (210) 584-5573     Joe Riba                     Bridge Inspection Team

                             (737) 990-8778     Mathew Pridgen        Bridge Inspection Team

Seventh Call:      (512) 949-7099     Bin Aregawi               Bridge & HYD Supervisor

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Biniam Aregawi       Biniam.Aregawi@txdot.gov

Lianxiang Du           lianxiang.du@txdot.gov

Joe Riba                  Joe.Riba@txdot.gov

Mathew Pridgen      Mathew.Pridgen@txdot.gov

Mark Wallace          Mark.Wallace@txdot.gov

Jorge Carrasco       Jorge.Carrasco@txdot.gov

Gregory Sanders    Gregory.Sanders@txdot.gov

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TMC WILL MAKE INITIAL NOTIFICATION CALLING “District Designee Primary: (512) 574-2603” IN THE EVENT OF NO ANSWER BEGIN THE RING DOWN LIST UNTIL CONTACT IS MADE. A VOICEMAIL SHOULD BE LEFT FOR EVERY CONTACT YOU MAKE WITHOUT ANSWER. ADD NOTES INTO LONESTAR CALL HISTORY FOR EACH PERSON CONTACTED & ACTION TAKEN (EXAMPLE: “CALLED (512) 949-7099   Bin Aregawi NO ANSWER LEFT VOICEMAIL”)

WAIT 10 MIN THEN RESTART CALL DOWN LIST AGAIN UNTIL CONTACT IS MADE. 

ONCE COMPLETED & E-MAIL IS SENT TMC OBLIGATIONS HAVE BEEN MEET. 

WITHIN LONESTAR EMAIL SEND TO “BRIDGE EMERGENCY CLOSURE” GROUP AS WELL AS THE NORMAL GROUPS.

Standard Questions asked:

• Location of bridge emergency?

• Type of bridge emergency (Bridge strike, Collision, Collapse)

• Is roadway / highway closed?

• Is bridge shutdown?

• Is maintenance en route? 

  If so do we have contact info for the person?

• Does TMC have any images of the damage? (See if Lonestar cameras have any view that can assist in assessment. If HERO is on scene request images, if Roy Jorgensen is on scene ask for e-mail images)

** Each scenario is different so questions may not be exact.

PIO NOTIFICATION INSTRUCTIONS

For any critical incidents that are blocking all lanes of traffic, the TMC will notify the PIO Office at 512-832-7113 anytime during office hours and afterhours. Make note in event history of when they are notified, and if you spoke to them or left them a voicemail.  When leaving a voicemail TMC Operators / Supervisors will leave the following:  

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• Name of CTECC operator or Supervisor

• Time

• Name of roadway

• Nearest intersection

• Which lanes/direction for closure

PIO NOTIFICATION CRITERIA

PIO: Public Information Officer

PIO Notification of Crashes

• All lanes closed in both directions on the roadways below regardless of day or time:

  • IH-35

  • US-183

  • US-290

  • SH-71

  • SH-130

  • SL-1

  • SL-360

  • RM-620

  • RM-2222

• All lanes closed in one direction on any roadway on weekdays between 6 a.m. until 8 p.m.

  • All lanes closed in one direction on IH-35 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. seven days a week.

• If overnight crash that closes all lanes in one or both directions will remain closed into †AM rush hour, contact PIO between 4:30-5AM so they can make necessary social notifications.

• If crash meets the Form 2111 criteria click on link for instructions.

                        †AM Rush Hours:      5 AM – 9 AM

                        ††Business Hours:    6 AM – 6 PM

*Do not contact PIO outside ††business hours and weekends if crash does not meet the above criteria

When contacting the PIO, always call the 24-hour hotline number first. If no call back within 10 minutes go to the next person on the on-call list.

ON CALL TxDOT PIO

On-call 24-hour hotline: 512-832-7113

Kellen Mohrmann:  Cell 737-330-7164

Glynda Chu:  Cell 512-376-8050

Brad Wheelis:  Cell 512-815-7239

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**Reminder when a TxDOT Maintained roadway is closed in either direction or both directions northbound or southbound, or eastbound and westbound go to the HCRS Instructions, also do not forget to go to the Drive

Texas website to input the closures.**

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TxDOT Bridge Response Team Actions

Below documentation is for information only this all will be completed by TxDOT response personnel.

Initial Email Notification:

1.3.1: District Designee1 will send initial email notification when bridge closure has potential of exceeding 4 hours.

            Reporting Process

• Summary of information2

• Reporting Process: Contact List3, Additional Contact List4 & Bridge Inspection Database

• Timeline: within 8 hours

Any impact or other emergency to a bridge resulting in traffic restrictions expected to last longer than 4 hours is considered a reportable incident and must be reported.

Form Development:

1.3.2: District Designee will work with Maintenance Personnel5 to complete the necessary form (See Figure 1-Bridge Incident Reporting Form and Figure 2-Permit Restriction Application) and submits to correct reporting process.

Reporting Process

• Bridge Incident Reporting Form

  • For: Vehicular Impact

    • Form to be sent to District Permit Coordinator6

    • District Designee to upload to Bridge Inspection Database

• Permit Restriction Application

  • For: Non-Vehicular Incident

  • Reporting Process:

    • Form to be sent to District Permit Coordinator

• Timeline: within 16 hours

1.3.2: Maintenance Personnel to provide necessary information within defined timeline to District Designee.

Initial Assessment of Bridge Site:

1.3.3: District Designee will work with maintenance personnel to conduct initial assessment of bridge site.

            Vehicular Impact7

• Focus of observation: Impact location and considered any reduction in structural capacity

• Potential outcome (including but not limited to):

  • Closure of bridge (full bridge closure)

  • Closure of traffic lanes above/under bridge

  • Closure of sidewalks above/under bridge

  • Load Posting

            Non-Vehicular Incidents8

• Focus of observation: Extent of damage and need for traffic restrictions

• Potential outcome (including but not limited to):

  • Load Postings

  • Closure of bridge (extensive scour damage)

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Yearly Reporting:

District Designee: will work with send Bridge Over height Impact Reporting Summary spreadsheet.

Definitions:

1. District Designee: person responsible for the overall response and notification of bridge emergencies that result in full or partial closures.

2. Summary of Information

• Structure number

• Facility carried

• Feature crossed

• Date of damage

• Approximate time of incident

• Current status of bridge

• Damage summary

• Photos of damage (three maximum)

• Actual Clearance

• Signed Clearance

• Estimated Load Height (Include for over-height vehicular impacts only)

3. Contact List

• BRG_Notification

• District Engineer

• tx-fhwabridge@dot.gov

• MCD_SizeWeight@TxDMV.gov

• MCD_Permit-Restriction@TxDMV.gov

• DMV_ENF_MC@TxDMV.gov

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4. Additional Contact

• Deputy District Engineer

• Area Engineer & Assistant Area Engineer

• District Maintenance Engineer

• Director of Operations

• TP&D Director

• Maintenance Supervisor

• District Design Engineer 

• CC' District Bridge Engineer

• CC' District Permit Coordinator

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5. Maintenance Personnel: Maintenance section staff participating in incident management.

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6. District Permit Coordinator: person responsible for reviewing both the Bridge Incident Reporting Form and Permit Restriction Application, then sending it to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles as soon as the bridge has been assessed and the lane/load limits determined (24 hours maximum).

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7. Vehicular impact: events include over-height impacts, column and rail impacts, and deck punch-through incidents.

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8. Non-vehicular incidents: include, but are not limited to, flooding, fires, and slope failures.