Low clearances

[Hurricane Rex]

Here's one on N Huron Ave under I-75 (the Mackinac Bridge) in Mackinaw City, MI:

I don't know if its this one or another one but there is a video on YouTube that shows similar crashes to the 11 foot 8 one. The last crash in that videos shows a truck catching on fire.

[MCRoads]

I don't know if this is considered a "low" bridge, but last year, a trucker hit the May overpass on NW Expressway, collapsing it. to be fair, there is a 3 inch difference in height, and no signage saying that, so that is why when he went under it going west, he didn't hit. he went back on NW Expy, only he was 1 inch too tall, oh boy...

[jp the roadgeek]

Found a 9'5" one in Meriden, CT, and not on CT 15.  This one is under the Amtrak line just off CT 71, and is a popular cut through from CT 71 to US 5.

https://goo.gl/maps/3CDcSFujDey

[Buffaboy]

This one is 11' 6," is that considered low? I once saw a box truck back up from it to do a U-turn.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7721283,-78.8544487,3a,75y,138.23h,84.79t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgGgTDDmW2uQ5hpZM9mlHFg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[Rothman]

Don't know if anyone posted this one yet:  9'6" on Snell Street in Amherst, MA:

https://goo.gl/maps/sAcc55FQdzA2

[kkt]

Don't know if anyone posted this one yet:  9'6" on Snell Street in Amherst, MA:

https://goo.gl/maps/sAcc55FQdzA2

That's a rail trail now.  You'd think it would be easy to raise it a bit.

[jeffandnicole]

Don't know if anyone posted this one yet:  9'6" on Snell Street in Amherst, MA:

https://goo.gl/maps/sAcc55FQdzA2

That's a rail trail now.  You'd think it would be easy to raise it a bit.

Nothing's ever easy...nor cheap.  If anything, they'll knock it down but probably make it a pedestrian crossing.

[Rothman]

That bridge has been there for decades without much trouble.  No reason to do anything to it.

[DRMan]

9' 6" on Broadway in downtown Dover, NH. Yes, it's been clobbered more than once.

https://goo.gl/maps/fnX4xmqvbYz

[Rothman]

Actually, this 11' bridge has been much, much more problematic.  MA has spent more on all sorts of warning systems rather than do anything to the bridge.

5 Bridge St

https://goo.gl/maps/X5ZmbVxedSv

[kphoger]

Bridge with 6'4" clearance over the Walnut River in Butler County, KS
https://goo.gl/maps/NddiEfySEUq

[jeffandnicole]

Actually, this 11' bridge has been much, much more problematic.  MA has spent more on all sorts of warning systems rather than do anything to the bridge.

5 Bridge St

https://goo.gl/maps/X5ZmbVxedSv

Since this thread popped back up...

Railroad bridges are inherently much more expensive to replace than most other bridges.  I was told in a similar instance near me, they actually have to go a distance of 2 miles (about 1 mile on each side) to raise the bridge 2 or 3 feet.  I don't know how true that truly is, but it's probably not that far off.  And you can't simply detour trains around the construction site or build a temporary bypass, so you have to somehow raise the bridge without disrupting train traffic.

[ftballfan]

There's a 10'0" railroad underpass on Bristol Ave in NW Grand Rapids: https://goo.gl/maps/7jCPG6QdqAq

[fillup420]

Actually, this 11' bridge has been much, much more problematic.  MA has spent more on all sorts of warning systems rather than do anything to the bridge.

5 Bridge St

https://goo.gl/maps/X5ZmbVxedSv

Since this thread popped back up...

Railroad bridges are inherently much more expensive to replace than most other bridges.  I was told in a similar instance near me, they actually have to go a distance of 2 miles (about 1 mile on each side) to raise the bridge 2 or 3 feet.  I don't know how true that truly is, but it's probably not that far off.  And you can't simply detour trains around the construction site or build a temporary bypass, so you have to somehow raise the bridge without disrupting train traffic.

I have seen cases in NC where they just dug the road down several inches instead of raising the bridge.

[Rothman]

I wonder if doing so causes drainage issues.

[froggie]

^ In the case of the infamous canopener bridge in Durham, NC, there's a major city sewer line immediately underneath the road.

Could it be relocated?  Theoretically, yes.  But it wouldn't be cheap, and probably wouldn't be cost-effective.

[theline]

Actually, this 11' bridge has been much, much more problematic.  MA has spent more on all sorts of warning systems rather than do anything to the bridge.

5 Bridge St

https://goo.gl/maps/X5ZmbVxedSv

Since this thread popped back up...

Railroad bridges are inherently much more expensive to replace than most other bridges.  I was told in a similar instance near me, they actually have to go a distance of 2 miles (about 1 mile on each side) to raise the bridge 2 or 3 feet.  I don't know how true that truly is, but it's probably not that far off.  And you can't simply detour trains around the construction site or build a temporary bypass, so you have to somehow raise the bridge without disrupting train traffic.

I have seen cases in NC where they just dug the road down several inches instead of raising the bridge.

That was exactly the approach used by INDOT on the SR 23 overpass over the US 31/20 bypass (St. Joseph Valley Parkway) in South Bend. Rather than rebuilding the bridge, they lowered the pavement to help upgrade this portion of the parkway that was originally built in the fifties.

I wonder if doing so causes drainage issues.

I wondered at the time if drainage issues were a consideration when INDOT replaced the nearby overpasses for Locust Road and Ireland Road rather than lowering the pavement there as part of the same parkway upgrade.

[jeffandnicole]

Actually, this 11' bridge has been much, much more problematic.  MA has spent more on all sorts of warning systems rather than do anything to the bridge.

5 Bridge St

https://goo.gl/maps/X5ZmbVxedSv

Since this thread popped back up...

Railroad bridges are inherently much more expensive to replace than most other bridges.  I was told in a similar instance near me, they actually have to go a distance of 2 miles (about 1 mile on each side) to raise the bridge 2 or 3 feet.  I don't know how true that truly is, but it's probably not that far off.  And you can't simply detour trains around the construction site or build a temporary bypass, so you have to somehow raise the bridge without disrupting train traffic.

I have seen cases in NC where they just dug the road down several inches instead of raising the bridge.

They did that recently on an I-295 (NJ) pavement replacement project, digging down what appeared to be upwards of a foot in some areas.

At a few limited height railroad crossings I'm familiar with, there's already flooding issues, so digging down even further just compounds the issue.

[ErmineNotyours]

Renton, Washington's 4-Cow-Wide Bridge, 6'-6", left over from agricultural days (see page 8 of this PDF) was removed in August 2007, replaced by an eight foot bridge.  This is now a low speed spur track to the Boeing 737/757 plant, with street running in Downtown.  They only had to raise the grade less than a mile on either side to give this street more clearance.  I don't even know why anyone bothered to use the old under-crossing.  You can't see clearly to the other end, and several times I had seen someone try to drive in to the crossing, only to have to back out to let a car through from the other side.

Renton's 4-Cow-Wide Bridge by Arthur Allen, on Flickr

It was safe for me to enter when it was closed to traffic, just before demolition.
Renton's 4-Cow-Wide Bridge by Arthur Allen, on Flickr

[doorknob60]

I unintentionally found this one in Calgary, AB finding an alternate route with less traffic back to AB-2 from the Stampede area. 2.0m or 6'6".


GSV Link

Was a little un-nerving, though my car can easily fit in it. But it's the lowest clearance I've ever taken it in. For reference, the clearance in my work parking garage is 7'2", a full 8" taller. Second closest is a parking garage in Portland, OR that was 6'8". But you expect that in parking garages a lot more than city streets.

For the record, my alternate route totally worked, minimal traffic back to the freeway. Instead of spending 5 minutes per block going the "normal route" (up 4th St, wind around to the bridge to Memorial Dr).

[txstateends]

On Green St. in downtown Longview, TX, the only really looow clearance I've ever seen (and amazingly it's still there), going under the UP railroad -- 10' even.  I've wondered why the city didn't do anything to fix the underpass (make the street lower); I guess they feel like the street isn't really important, and there are many other grade-separated ways (under or over) to choose from in town without getting stuck with just Green St.

The NB warning signage on Green: http://goo.gl/maps/ekDoO
NB at the bridge: http://goo.gl/maps/hebqa
For comparison, the SB warning signage: http://goo.gl/maps/sKLO6
Looking SB (in NB lane) at the bridge: http://goo.gl/maps/faI8z
And--the Google car did make it under the bridge: http://goo.gl/maps/wnLGI

Sorry for the very late bump but:

http://www.news-journal.com/news/police/truck-damaged-after-driver-attempts-to-go-under-green-street/article_7709c2c6-e756-11e3-80f7-001a4bcf887a.html

This article in the Longview paper says the city re-did the underpass (the project was completed just 2 months ago); now the clearance is 11'4".  But *still*, a truck tries the Green Street underpass last week, and whatta-ya-know....

Apparently some folks never learn...
https://www.cbs19.tv/mobile/article/news/local/settling-the-score-of-the-green-street-monster/501-557727456

The infamousness continues, even with a lowering of the street since the previous post.  It's so bad and legendary, the underpass has its own nickname (the 'Green Street Monster'), and its own Facebook page also:
https://www.facebook.com/Green-Street-Monster-334548240405639/

[txstateends]

TxDOT has a list of low clearance spots online, divided up by TxDOT district:

http://www.txdmv.gov/motorcarriers/low-clearance

[jeffandnicole]

TxDOT has a list of low clearance spots online, divided up by TxDOT district:

http://www.txdmv.gov/motorcarriers/low-clearance

The problem with that list being of use to the general public is you have to know what district(s) you'll be traveling thru.  Otherwise, you have to click on 25 links, and try to follow your route thru each.  Some are fairly obvious (El Paso, Houston); others less so (Childress, Pharr).

[Flint1979]

There's an 11 foot railroad overpass a little west of Mayville, Michigan. It's on Mertz Road south of where M-24 splits to curve into Mayville.

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.3438071,-83.3824593,3a,75y,183.68h,86.35t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5wuAMtbwEV3ttnhew25JrQ!2e0!7i3328!8i1664

[jeffandnicole]

A current accident on I-76 in NJ involves an overturned truck, which appeared to hit the Browning Road overpass.  The truck was in the left lanes at the time; normal for the area as there's a left lane entrance from I-295 North just prior to this overpass.  The overpass is sized as a 13' 11" clearance (https://goo.gl/maps/zoZtfCEUJw52), although it seems to claim a lot of truck victims.  And since they're most likely coming from I-295 North, they pass under another 13' 11" clearance overpass just before this interchange (https://goo.gl/maps/P3UPzDVhXUT2), so it's not like they're over the 13' 6" permitted height by much.  My assumption is the bridge is somewhere between 13' 6" and 13' 11" in this area, or there's something in the road causing the truck body to bounce a little.  The roadbed under this overpass is probably old concrete and isn't in all that great of shape.

The overpass is due to be replaced soon; a temporary bridge is way-too-slowly being built just next to the overpass.