TowTimes.com - Audio Article: Recovery Review-Bucket List Bridge Recovery

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Recovery Review-Bucket List Recovery

From the July 2022 Issue of Tow Times Magazine

In February 2021, a distracted truck driver veered off I-10 eastbound in Columbus, Texas. The 18-wheeler loaded with FedEx freight travelled off the roadway approximately 100 yards, at one point barreling over a 10-foot drop, and plunging into the Colorado River.

The two occupants of the tractor were uninjured and assisted from the cab by the Columbus Fire Department. The Colorado County and the Texas Department of Public Safety called Delgado’s Wrecker Service in Eagle Lake, Texas, located only minutes away. Owner Albert Delgado and operator Bruce Tesch responded in two, twin-steer Century 75-ton rotators, joined by operator Robert Cantu in a 35-ton Century heavy-duty unit.

First, the operators winched the tractor and trailer backward approximately 100 feet until it was out of the water and on dry ground. Next, recovery options were considered — one of which was to winch the combination out the direction it came in, but it would be a time-consuming and difficult process, as would offloading the cargo. Or, they could separate the trailer from the tractor and lift them both to the bridge. That was the option they chose.

Delgado accessed the truck’s manifest to determine the weight of the load. He then had to factor in water. Upon impact, the load shifted to the front and became soaked in the trailer. The total weight of the cargo and trailer was estimated to be approximately 35,000 lbs.

The operators took measurements and positioned the rotators back-to-back on the bridge above the combination. Truck positioning was critical to ensure there was sufficient space between the recovery units to accommodate the lifted trailer once it was brought over the side of the bridge between them.

The operators rigged to the trailer with Miller Industries’ spreader bars to safely lift the trailer while protecting its side structure. The trailer was disconnected from the tractor and the rotators began the lift. Once the trailer was clear of the side of the bridge, Delgado and Tesch used the rotators to “weave” the trailer over the railing, working the front of the trailer over the rail, followed by the rear.

As the trailer’s landing legs had been torn away in the crash, the front of the trailer was suspended while a tractor was backed underneath and coupled to it. After the trailer was towed from the recovery area, the operators rigged to the tractor and lifted it to the bridge railing, rotated it onto the bridge and lowered it between them.

The rotator in front of the tractor lowered its under-lift, and the tractor was hooked up and towed from the scene. Total time of the recovery was approximately six hours. One lane of the eastbound traffic remained open throughout the recovery except for 45 minutes when police shut down both lanes as the trailer and tractor were lifted to the bridge.

The key factor of this recovery was truck positioning, Delgado says. It was crucial to lift both trailer and tractor to the bridge without having to reposition the trucks.

For Delgado, this was a “bucket list” recovery. “Not everyone gets to do a job like this,” he says. “It’s not every day you can lift a loaded 18-wheeler to a bridge.”But Delgado has quietly accepted challenging recovery jobs throughout his career — starting from his days of operating a one-ton wrecker with his dad. His company has been in business for 35 years, and he’s been doing heavy-duty towing and recovery for 28 years.

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