Emergency Bridge Strike Response & Engineering
When a truck hits a bridge, the first call should reach an engineer and a crew at the same time. HSE’s in-house Professional Engineers assess the damage and prepare the repair procedure for the owner's engineer to approve; our steel bridge rehabilitation crews carry it out with the least impact on traffic and pedestrians.
Call 717.390.4200Engineering and Field Crews Under One Roof
Most bridge-strike responses run through three companies: an engineer to assess, a contractor to shore, a fabricator to replace. HSE keeps the assessment, the repair engineering and the field work in one company — licensed Professional Engineers on staff and steel bridge rehabilitation crews on our own payroll — so the owner gets one answer and one schedule.
- Licensed PEs in PA, MD, NJ, NY, DC, NH, VT, VA, CT and OH
- Post-strike damage assessment and repair engineering
- Heat straightening, member repair and replacement by our own crews
- MOT sequencing built into the repair plan, not added after
The Call
Owner or prime reports a strike. HSE dispatches an engineer and a crew lead together.
Assessment
A licensed PE documents the damage, evaluates the load path and gives the owner a straighten-or-replace answer.
Make Safe & Design
Temporary support if needed, repair procedure and MOT plan submitted for the owner’s engineer.
Repair
Heat straightening or member replacement executed in night and weekend windows with lanes and walkways kept open wherever the structure allows.
Emergency Response to Bridge Strikes
Over-height loads find girders every week. HSE responds to red-flag calls the way we did for NYSDOT in Westchester County: an engineer on site to assess the struck member, a rapid-response make-safe plan, and heat straightening or repair scheduled into the owner’s closure windows.
- Engineer and crew lead dispatched together
- Rapid damage documentation and load-path evaluation
- Make-safe shoring where the structure needs it
Damage Assessment & Repair Engineering
HSE’s in-house PEs evaluate impact-damaged girders, floor beams and bracing, and produce the repair procedure, heat-straightening plan, temporary support design and lift plan the owner’s engineer reviews — without waiting on an outside firm.
- Structural evaluation of struck members
- Heat-straightening procedures and repair details
- Temporary support, lift and rigging plans
- Submittals prepared for the owner’s bridge engineer
Steel Bridge Rehabilitation Crews
The engineers hand off to crews who do nothing but bridge steel: AISC-certified ironworkers, foremen and superintendents who repair, straighten and replace members over live traffic, rail and water.
- AISC Certified Erector with Bridge Endorsement
- Heat straightening, section repair and member replacement
- Controlled jacking, bearing and bracing work
The Least Impact on Traffic and Pedestrians
The repair plan starts from the traffic plan. Night and weekend windows, lane-by-lane work, protected pedestrian routes and staged closures are engineered into the procedure so the owner is not choosing between a safe bridge and an open road.
- Night and weekend windows, lane-by-lane where the structure allows
- Protected pedestrian routes maintained wherever the structure allows
- MOT sequencing submitted with the repair procedure
Who We Work With
Public owners who carry the liability for a struck bridge and the traffic behind it.
State DOTs
District bridge units and maintenance engineers responding to red-flag reports.
Counties
County-owned bridges, often on rural routes with a single detour.
Cities & Municipalities
Local bridges where a closure lands on Main Street and the fire route.
Turnpike, Toll & Bridge Authorities
Authority structures where every closed lane has a revenue number attached.
Before the Next Strike
DOTs, counties, cities and municipalities: set up a meeting with HSE to put a quick-action plan in place for your bridges — who gets called, what gets assessed, and how traffic stays moving while the steel is repaired.