Senate Transportation Committee to Hold Public Hearing to Examine Bridge Strikes

     Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (R-Merrick), Chairman of the Senate’s Transportation Committee, today announced that the New York State Senate Transportation Committee will be holding a public hearing to examine the problem of bridge strikes by commercial vehicles on parkways.

     The public hearing will be held at 10 am on Thursday, October 25th at Farmingdale State College (Lupton Hall, IRTT Room T-101), which is located at 2350 Broadhollow Road in Farmingdale.

     Commercial trucks are prohibited from driving on state parkways because the bridge overpasses do not provide sufficient clearance for them to fit under. However, many trucks are entering the parkways and striking these bridges, causing extensive damage and significant traffic delays which can last for hours at a time.

     The State Department of Transportation estimates that there have been approximately 200 bridge strikes each year since 2005. A recent Newsday report noted that a quarter of these strikes occurred on Long Island between 2010 and 2011, with bridge strikes costing $7 million on Long Island alone over the last five years.

     “Bridge strikes are a continuing problem that have caused damage and delays on our parkways for years. Through this public hearing, the committee will examine this problem and hear expert testimony about why these strikes occur,” said Senator Fuschillo.

     Representatives from the New York State Department of Transportation, Regional Bridge Strike Mitigation Task Force, New York State Police, the commercial trucking industry, AAA, and companies that created sensory technology to prevent bridge strikes have been invited to testify.

     Members of the general public are welcome to attend the hearing and submit written comments. Oral testimony is by invitation only.