Messed up in Cannon County

Sept. 28, 2009 Cannon County man says people throwing things from bridges is Messed Up A Cannon County man is demanding action after his car windshield is destroyed by an object thrown from a 50 foot high bridge. According to the Cannon County Sheriffs office, someone threw a shopping bag containing water balloons from the bridge that crosses SR 145. The bridge is 50-60 feet high and the car was traveling at 50 mph when the impact occurred. David Vance says it was dark and had just begun to rain. He says it sounded like someone shot out his windshield. Though it was wet and dark, Vance says he was able to keep his Audi under control on the narrow, winding road. Vance says he turned around and went up on the bridge, but the culprits were gone. He called the sheriffs department which responded, but had few clues to go on. According to Cannon Co. Sheriff Billy Nichols, items are thrown from the bridge all the time, but this is the first time he can recall a vehicle being hit. Mr. Vance says he has seen pumpkins and computer monitors and car batteries smashed below the bridge. The sheriff says he has seen air conditioners and even refrigerators thrown from above. It is for this reason that Mr. Vance is calling for action. The sheriff says he can step up patrols, but with only 2 night time deputies working a large county, babysitting the bridge is not possible. The County Executive, Mike Gannon says he is concerned about the incident and the issue. He tells me that he has been in contact with TDOT to see what if anything can be done. Gannon says he is considering cameras and lighting as a preventative measure Mr. Vance is no bridge engineer but he knows what he would like to see - a barricade, similar to the walking bridges that cross highways. Vance says that would discourage people from throwing items onto vehicles. Personally I dont know why they cant put a pedestrian fence system up. You have people leaning over painting this thing. And the state has to cover it up. There is money they are spending they would not have to spend if they had something up here to keep that from happening. A TDOT spokesperson tells Messed Up its not that easy. The fence is not practical, nor a good use of tax payer money. The spokesperson tells me this is a law enforcement issue, not a TDOT issue. Additionally the spokesperson says, because of the height of this structure, the only way to maintain the bridge is to drive a bucket truck onto the bridge, and then lower a crew over the side in a bucket to get underneath. A fence would severely hamper that type of maintenance operation, the official says. When I inform Mr. Vance of this, he responds by telling me; They have the money. If we had a big car plant here, and all that money that goes into roads, they would have had this done. But its Cannon County. We dont throw much money to the tax base and its being ignored. The TDOT official responds; TDOTs primary concern is for the safety of the motoring