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High Wind on Confederation Bridge
Currently on PEI staying at Marco Polo Resort. 600 spots and just us. Really nice owners let us stay while they close-down for the year.
The bridge and ferry are closed today due to high winds and surf so we are marooned.
looking for some practical experience on what wind speed makes bridge crossings unsafe or white-knuckles?
you can see current conditions and forecast in the pics.
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3 Replies
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60kph is about 48mph
100kph is about 60mph.
I’ve been in stiff cross winds on I-80 on the open high desert in east Wyoming. they were forecasted on the first sign at 50mph and then the second sign at 60mph.
I don’t know how strong they really were. (You know they have those anemometers along the road, why doesn’t the DOT put a digital readout on them!) Once we got to Cheyenne it was really, really windy. We had to hang onto the coach door and the car doors when we opened them. I saw construction projects during the weekday that no one was working on.
Were the winds 40? 50? or 60? I don’t know.
I would however expect the winds on what I expect a high bridge to PEI to be higher, no ground friction to slow them down.
What I do know is whatever the cross winds were on I-80, the coach handled them well. If it were me, I’d try to pick a time of day that the winds were reduced. I’d try to talk to the RV park owners about the winds. Same thing with local law enforcement.
Its my thought that although our coaches are a high profile vehicle, our centers of gravity are much lower than a semi tractor or a 53′ van or tanker. The engine and trans sit low, the heavy generator is low, the water tanks are low, if you have Cruise-Airs they are low. The low center of gravity is what gives our Prevost coaches the good stability we enjoy.
Hence … unless law enforcement strongly objects to making the bridge crossing on the bridge I would probably try it but take it slow. Hopefully you aren’t pulling a stacker trailer without a load; that I wouldn’t even consider.
Last fall we met Jack Kelly and his wife from PEI at the Liberty Coach Rally. They own Bulk Carriers.
http://www.bulkcarrierspei.com/about-bulk-carriers/our-history/
You might try calling Jack at the office and asking his opinion. They have a 45′ Prevost. They are very nice people.
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We use the Skyway bridge to St.Petersburg often and they close it to trucks and busses at 35mph and to autos at 45mph. I have been on it in the bus at 30mph and don’t like it. Geo.
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Thanks all. We waited for the wind to drop to a constant lower speed and was happily surprised at how smooth it went. Strangely, the winds before and after the bridge had a much more noticeable impact. What an impressive bridge.
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