Highway takes toll

Three truck drivers have taken a long look over the steep edge of Highway 242 since August 25, learning the hard way that travel restrictions over McKenzie Pass are not to be ignored. One driver managed to keep his wheels on the road with a little help from a local escort; the others wrecked , but escaped injury.

Art Davis, owner of Davis Tire and Towing in Sisters hauled the rigs out of the wrecks.

According to Kathleen Davis at the dispatch helm, the first truck slid off the highway at milepost 67 on Tuesday, August 25 at 11:30 a.m.

"He slid into the ravine and jackknifed trying to get (the truck) out," she said.

According to Davis, the truck driver was working for A.N. Webber Company and was allegedly dispatched by a company in Central Oregon to cross Highway 242; she said she later confirmed this with the owner of A.N. Webber.

The rescue took about nine hours, but the truck's full load of hot water heaters was undamaged. One lane was re-opened by 7 p.m., both lanes cleared by 8:30 p.m.

"ODOT closed the west side with a detour and we flagged the east side," said Davis

Despite ODOT's placement of a flashing "highway closed ahead" sign near Crossroads, automobile drivers insisted on proceeding to the accident site, only to be turned around by the Davis crew.

Later that week, Art Davis returned to the highway to retrieve some tools that were left at the crash site.

"I was passing Dee Wright (Observatory) and I saw a big red Ford 9000 Landstar (a 48 foot tractor-trailer) coming up the hill," Davis said.

On his return from the previous accident site, Davis got behind the Ford and asked from the CB radio if the driver needed some help.

"He was pretty wound up," Davis said.

Without incident, Davis escorted the driver down the east side of the pass, blocking the road ahead in one mile sections. This truck was empty.

Then on Saturday, September 4 at 3 p.m., the McKenzie's volcanic summit claimed its second victim.

Bill Patterson returned to Oregon for the first time in eight years from Horton, Kansas. He and his 48 foot flatbed trailer picked up a load of lumber in Dillard, Oregon to be delivered to Snowflake, Arizona.

"I was coming down (Highway) 126 and was busy looking at the map," Patterson said. "(Highway 242) looked like the shortest route."

He recalls seeing the warning sign, but before he knew what it had said, it was too late, he said.

"Once I got in, there was no way to turn around," Patterson said. "I just got on the wrong road."

Patterson made it through the tightest corner where the first accident had occurred, but when mile marker 69 came around, he had his turn.

"Four miles from the top, I went around a corner and blew a tire on a rock; the load shifted and the trailer laid over," he said.

A passing driver went to the Forest Service post on the west side, and Willamette National Forest officials responded. The sheriff's deputies and ODOT followed. The Davis crew arrived with equipment and flaggers by 6 p.m.

"We got one lane open by 11 p.m., and two lanes by midnight," said Kathleen Davis.

Patterson's load was still attached to his to trailer and had to be disconnected.

"It took two wreckers to flip (the truck) up straight," said Patterson. "I am really impressed; these guys know what they are doing."

Patterson received two citations; one for disobeying posted restrictions and another for careless driving, the result of striking the roadsode rock.

Art and Kathleen Davis said that they average one truck accident per year on the McKenzie Pass, but it has been two years since their last one.

Sharp curves and steep grades aside, Highway 242 poses numerous technical challenges for drivers of large vehicles. For starters, the road contains two weight restricted bridges, both on the steeper west side of McKenzie Pass.

Located 25 and 21 miles west of Sisters, at mileposts 68.36 and 66.70, the bridges are rated 43,000 and 40,000 pounds respectively for tandem axle trucks and 50,000 and 43,000 pounds for triple axles, according to permit analysts with ODOT in Salem.

"We don't send anyone through (unless) they have a (delivery) there and only during certain times of the year," ODOT officials said.

The route requires the highest number of pilot cars of any highway in Oregon.

Sergeant Paul Collinsworth of the Oregon State Police in Bend added that 242 is registered as a "class three" highway and is closed to trucks over 35 feet combined length between their towing device, tractor and trailer. Length restrictions also apply to travel trailers.

Pat Creedican, District Maintenance Supervisor with ODOT in Bend, recalls truck incidents occurring about once or twice a year, and he cautioned drivers to heed warning signs.

"It's posted on the sign, 'No vehicles over 35 feet'," Creedican said. "Class three normally allows 50 feet, but in no case can they exceed posted (length) limit."