The groundings are caused by two deep dips coupled with a high berm running the crest of Alameda. When longer trucks cross the berm, their trailers cannot clear it and they become stuck and in need of assistance by tow trucks to be dislodged. In the case of busses, we are assured that those groundings were the result of new driver who tried to cross in the center lane of Third where the berm is highest. That situation has been corrected.
In response to TAF concerns of the truck groundings – Coronado Police Sergeant (CPD) Shank and California Highway Patrol (CHP) Sergeant Deher met in Coronado this week to discuss what can be done to prevent semi trucks bottoming at the entry to Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI). Sgt. Shank is our TAF appointed officer. Sgt. Deher is in the Commercial Vehicle Division of the CHP in South Bay.
Sgt. Deher reported the meeting went well and he had a better handle on the traffic dilemma regarding truck routes in Coronado after seeing it first hand. Sgt. Shank showed him the truck routes in question which are Third Street, Orange Avenue, and Ocean Boulevard.
As TAF has already been advised by Caltrans, it is not likely the berm that catches the bottoms of the trucks and renders them inoperable will be shaved. According to all sources it will be an engineering capital project because one change affects so many others.
Sergeant Deher also reported he had a conversation with Caltrans after his tour of Coronado to clarify further. He reported that Caltrans confirmed Sgt. Shank’s summary of the situation; that there is no fix on the way.
There are potential mitigators that could be employed however. Since the SR282 loop is a “California Legal Highway,” trucks over 65′ are prohibited. The first consideration to improve the problem is something Sgt. Deher already discussed on TAF behalf with Caltrans; improve truck route signage prior to entering SR282. This signage could also include warnings to “Lowboy” semi trucks that are at most risk of grounding at NASNI, giving them opportunity to take Orange Avenue to Ocean Boulevard.
The second way to deter groundings on SR282 is to enforce the laws in place and warn or ticket oversized trucks. And third, Captain Sund at NASNI could be contacted and asked if he might support our effort and have truck entry service members informed that Third Street is a California Legal Route so they might pass it on to drivers. Lastly, residents can take the phone numbers off the truck doors and call and notify the company of the California Legal Route designation. I have done this and the companies were quite grateful. On some maps, according to Sgt. Deher, the route is not marked so drivers may simply not know.
How is this important designation overlooked? It appears that when residents of First Street lobbied to close their long established truck route into NASNI, the proper research may not have been done and the California Legal designation of SR 282 was buried under paperwork. The shift from First Street left only Third and Ocean as truck routes. This forced larger trucks to have to travel Orange Avenue through the center of town to Ocean towards the base. Many truck drivers likely wanted to avoid that slow trip and took 282 in noncompliance to save time. With no enforcement over the past years the knowledge of the route being California Legal was simply ignored or perhaps forgotten.
Sgt. Deher will be doing what he can to help us by taking a closer look at the trucks going over the bridge, especially watching for flammables. As most of us know, no trucks carrying flammables are authorized on the bridge for any reason. Their approved route is actually the Strand to Ocean to the NASNI entry at North Beach. It is the hope of TAF that CPD will be watching more closely for flammable trucks on SR75 portion of Third and Fourth Streets as well.
Having the three agencies (Caltrans, CHP, and CPD) working together is the best possible scenario.
While I had Sgt. Deher’s attention, he was asked why the CHP does not police the corridor since it is a California State Highway. This is a question that comes up often to TAF. Here is the answer. The CHP has jurisdiction only over ‘unincorporated areas.’ Only two cities in California have CHP services within a city limit that he knew of. In both cases these are bankrupt cities that cannot afford police services. The CHP substation at the Toll Plaza is manned for the purpose of monitoring the bridge only. CHP will not come into the city of Coronado jurisdiction.
Toni McGowan, TAF Member
