They changed the markings on the road, and they changed the signs. But those changes did not prevent a truck driver from crash landing on Interstate 95 in southern Palm Beach County this weekend.
First responders got the urgent call early Saturday morning on Congress Avenue and I-95 in Boca Raton, after the tractor-trailer drove through the guardrail and fell from the overpass and onto the southbound lanes of I-95.
Investigators believe the driver, a 37-year-old man from Bakersfield, Calif., likely fell asleep at the wheel.
He survived and is recovering at Delray Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
Monday, workers spent the afternoon cleaning up the mess because chunks of concrete and twisted metal littered the highway.
If this all sounds familiar it’s because the overpass has a quite the history.
In fact, in a little over a year, there have been four crashes where tractor-trailers have ended driving through the intersection and dangling over the edge of the I-95 ramp.
The most recent happened in April with deadly results when a tow truck driver fell from the overpass as he tried to secure a semi.
“How many more people are going to die there or get seriously hurt there until they decide ‘all right, enough is enough?'” asked truck driver James Candee.
When we spoke to the Florida Department of Transportation following April’s accident, the agency committed to change.
Monday we saw evidence of those improvements, as "signal ahead" signs have been installed on the ramp.
The Florida Department of Transportation also removed straight arrows from the lanes, which are supposed to be turn lanes only.
Some wonder if Saturday shows more needs to be done.
“I don’t know … if that falls on the county putting more pressure on the state,” Candee says.
We have reached out to FDOT for comment on the crash to see if more changes are indeed on the way.
A spokesperson responded via email, saying they are waiting for an update from their traffic operations office and will send it as soon as possible.
