Posted on 11/09/2021 12:18:44 PM PST by Leaning Right
The ‘Can Opener Bridge’ is a railroad bridge in Durham, North Carolina. It has a clearance of 11 feet 8 inches, which is too low for many modern trucks. Signs have been put up to warn large trucks to detour away from the underpass.
This video shows what happens when trucks ignore that warning.
That’s what I love about FreeRepublic, there’s hardly ever a story or event where some FReeper doesn’t have first hand knowledge.
“Watcha you head. Lowla brigeda.”
That is what I thought! They are going to need to tear it down with no access for 2-3 years, just so illegals can get to the beach without impediments in the future.
There’s one in Davenport IA. They/we call it the Truck Eating Bridge.
Local classic rock station morning guys like to send their intern down there after one hits during their shift to ask the driver one question: “Do you feel like a dumb-ass?”
It was amazing that you could get that kind of cooperation from Boston drivers. When I started trying to get people to give the truck space to back up I figured that about thirty seconds in there would be so much traffic backed up it would be impossible to undo, but yes, we got lucky. I think a lot of the drivers knew the problem that had just been avoided and had sympathy for the truck.
“There are overheight warnings for over a mile before the bridge”
Are they in English?
Interesting observation from the Durham bridge was that every morning I would see a convoy of 5 or 6 Asplundh tree trucks (bucket trucks) come cruising up to the bridge and stop. A guy would hop out of the passenger side of the 1st truck and guide each of the trucks through. The road drops off about 5 or 6 inches to the curb so he would line each truck up as close to the curb as they could get and squeeze under with about an inch to spare. The guy would then hop into the last truck and off they went.
In the video, they explained they could not lower the road due to underground pipes, and that if the road were any lower, it would flood (more?) easily.
Trucking companies used to fit their trailers with smaller than normal tires when they were making runs through parts of the South that had low bridges.
IIRC, lower the road bed isn’t an option because the bridge is at the low point of the storm drainage system.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.