'Open Roads' a success, but I-95 must wait

By Chuck McGinness
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Sunday, February 20, 2005

After more than six months on the job, a team of towers tasked with rapidly clearing crashes on Florida's Turnpike has a near-perfect record.

In 22 of 23 incidents, the Open Roads Recovery Team has removed wrecked vehicles from the highway and reopened blocked lanes to traffic in less than 90 minutes, earning $77,000 in bonuses.

The average clearance time after major crashes has decreased from more than two hours to about 55 minutes, said Chris Warren, the turnpike's deputy director.
So if the rapid removal program is working so well, why isn't it used on the much more heavily traveled Interstate 95?

State transportation officials and traffic consultants are looking at the idea, but a number of issues make it more complicated. One of the snags is money.

Three years ago, the state created the Florida Turnpike Enterprise, freeing the agency of some bureaucratic requirements and allowing it to run more like a business. The turnpike gets no tax money, so using money from tolls to ease delays after crashes is easy to justify.

On I-95, there is a reluctance to use taxpayer money - cash that otherwise would be spent to widen roads - for bonuses to private tow companies.

The concept is not new. The state awards incentives to road contractors to complete projects ahead of schedule. Recognizing that tow operators are highway contractors is part of a changing philosophy at the state Department of Transportation: that its main focus should be on operating a more efficient highway system, not building and maintaining roads.

"Little by little, these things are happening, but it's not going to be immediate," said traffic management consultant Ted Smith.

In the meantime, the state is looking at other ways to reduce congestion at major crashes on I-95.

One idea being tested in Broward County is the "Severe Incident Response Vehicle." The truck operates as a command post at the scene, carrying radios so police, paramedics, hazardous material cleanup crews and others can talk to one another.

It may not seem like a big deal, but a lack of communication can cause an incident to stretch on longer than necessary, said Steve Corbin, the state's intelligent transportation system operations manager.

The truck is equipped with orange cones, portable signs and other devices to direct traffic around closed lanes or block entrance ramps. It also carries material to sop up small fuel spills.

"To start we may just be saving minutes," said traffic incident management specialist Tom Dickson. "Minutes add up to hours."

The turnpike's quick-clearance program was started after the Florida Highway Patrol and the Department of Transportation agreed in 2002 to clear most lane-blocking crashes within 90 minutes. For every hour that a major highway in shut down, it costs those sitting in backups about $1 million in lost time and productivity, transportation officials say.

Cutting the time a road is closed also can result in a reduction of secondary crashes and fewer injuries to police officers and fire-rescue workers.

The Open Roads Recovery Team, a partnership of four longtime Palm Beach County tow operators - Zuccala Wrecker Service in Boynton Beach, Kauff's Towing in Mangonia Park, Sister's Towing in suburban West Palm Beach and Moss Towing in South Bay covers a 160-mile section of the turnpike, from Miami to Yeehaw Junction.

The 90-minute clock begins once the injured have been treated, police have gathered evidence and hazardous materials have been cleaned up.

The one time the team did not meet the deadline involved a tractor-trailer loaded with frozen chickens that overturned in the median north of Fort Pierce. Because of road construction, crews had trouble getting their wreckers in place to remove the big rig. The state did not charge the $10-a-minute penalty, tow operator Drew Zuccala said.

Warren, the turnpike's deputy director, said the program will likely be expanded to other state toll roads. It's a simple matter of economics - if motorists aren't moving, tolls aren't being collected.

Before the Department of Transportation can initiate the program on I-95, decades-old towing regulations will have to be updated so companies respond with equipment to move big trucks and workers are trained, said Smith, the traffic consultant. The rules are being revised in cooperation with the industry's trade group, the Professional Wrecker Operators of Florida.

The turnpike's quick-clearance tow operators said there's no doubt the program can work on I-95 if they're given the chance.

Zuccala worked a fiery crash on Feb. 12 at Interstate 595 and the turnpike in which a tanker truck loaded with 9,000 gallons of fuel overturned onto a car. Four people were killed. Once FHP troopers finished their investigation, the mass of melted aluminum and crushed steel was gone in 80 minutes, Zuccala said.

"We were told for years it couldn't be done in 90 minutes," he said.

"There's no worse accident than a tanker burned to the ground, and we got it done."

Copyright 2005, The Palm Beach Post