North Carolina's Famed Truck-Scalping Bridge Nears 100 Recorded Crashes

[MNHighwayMan]

Maybe they should just close the road under the bridge permanently, and funnel the traffic elsewhere.

What, and ruin the fun I'm having watching overheight vehicles get wrecked? Get outta here.

[freebrickproductions]

Maybe they should just close the road under the bridge permanently, and funnel the traffic elsewhere.

What, and ruin the fun I'm having watching overheight vehicles get wrecked? Get outta here.

I agree that watching karma in action is fun, but from a safety standpoint, if a rather low bridge with a history of trucks hitting it can't be raised or the road under it lowered, then the road underneath should probably be closed.

Or, alternatively, they could have one of these gates set-up to lower automatically as soon as it detects a truck that's too tall... Company that made them claimed the gates could stop a truck moving at 40 MPH, and I can't imagine traffic going much faster than that on this road...

[1995hoo]

I read somewhere that the state DOT, which is responsible for the road, decided that since there have been no deaths and fewer than five injuries, they would concentrate on more important priorities (including an 11'4" overpass elsewhere in Durham under which trucks get stuck, though without the same violence associated with the Gregson Street overpass).

[Brian556]

The bridge was in action again this morning. This truck was absolutely mangled.

http://youtu.be/aBLH8qvaIFg

Based on the video, the system is not working right. The truck entered the intersection on a yellow light. Based on what I've read on here, the light is supposed to turn red before the overheight truck reaches it.

[kkt]

The bridge was in action again this morning. This truck was absolutely mangled.

http://youtu.be/aBLH8qvaIFg

Based on the video, the system is not working right. The truck entered the intersection on a yellow light. Based on what I've read on here, the light is supposed to turn red before the overheight truck reaches it.

Yes, it looked that way to me too.  The trucks are probably coming too fast to measure their height.  Perhaps the light at the nearest intersection should generally be red and permit one vehicle at a time to pass after its height has been measured.

[1995hoo]

I wonder if there ought to be another height-triggered light at the intersection before that one (Main Street) in order to reduce the frequency of trucks speeding through the light at Peabody and slamming into the bridge. It wouldn't necessarily be as simple as I just made it sound because Main is a much busier street than Peabody is, making it more difficult to have a light changing at seemingly random times, but if you had two consecutive height-triggered lights, you'd probably reduce the severity of truck crashes even if they weren't eliminated completely because I assume it would be less likely for a truck to blast through consecutive red lights. (A comparison point familiar to me is the 10'0" railroad bridge on the Corner near UVA in Charlottesville–while occasionally trucks get stuck under it despite warnings that include a loud bell, the crashes are far less violent because University Avenue is a much slower-speed roadway than Gregson Street due to the nature of the area.)

BTW, as I was typing this I pulled up both Apple Maps and Google Maps to refresh my recollection on the street pattern around there, and I notice both of them list "11foot8 Bridge" as a landmark.

[D-Dey65]

And that one looks like they were pro drivers, not amateurs driving a rental van.
Hope nobody lost irreplaceable items in the truck.

I'm still convinced some of these people do it on purpose so they can get on YouTube.  The keyword in that sentence being "some."

< "Hey look, Ma! I'm on a viral video for crashing my 13'6" truck into that 11'8" bridge, and I lived to brag about it and make an ass of myself." 

[Sykotyk]

And that one looks like they were pro drivers, not amateurs driving a rental van.
Hope nobody lost irreplaceable items in the truck.

I'm still convinced some of these people do it on purpose so they can get on YouTube.  The keyword in that sentence being "some."

< "Hey look, Ma! I'm on a viral video for crashing my 13'6" truck into that 11'8" bridge, and I lived to brag about it and make an ass of myself." 

If you've ever rented a rental truck, they stipulate, quite clearly, that there is no insurance coverage for topping the vehicle on trees, power lines, bridges, drive thrus, etc.

And your personal auto insurance generally won't cover it, either. So, you'd be on the hook for the few thousand dollars minimum to put a new box on it for those trucks.


The problem is they're using regular red/green lights to activate and then the lit sign advising to turn. I think what NEEDS to be done is that several trip sensors across the road for any vehicle at 11' or more triggers bright flashing red lights (think major train crossings) and bright reverse lit message board advising OVERHEIGHT TRUCK -- STOP where the words are negative space and everything else is lit up

And aside from all that, the biggest needs to be an educational campaign among anyone who operates in the area (they have 125 company names just from this) to advise people they can't take overheight trucks on this road because they won't fit. Anyone renting a moving truck should be told explicitly not to even take the vehicle on this road.

[wdcrft63]

The (in)famous truck-eating overpass in Durham, the star of 11foot8.com, is being raised. Sort of. The Norfolk Southern Railway, which owns the bridge, has announced a project to increase the clearance from 11-foot-8 to 12-foot-4. Somehow, I don't know how, they can do this without lowering the street or raising the railroad grade.
https://www.wral.com/durham-s-can-opener-bridge-being-raised/18712577/

[sprjus4]

The (in)famous truck-eating overpass in Durham, the star of 11foot8.com, is being raised. Sort of. The Norfolk Southern Railway, which owns the bridge, has announced a project to increase the clearance from 11-foot-8 to 12-foot-4. Somehow, I don't know how, they can do this without lowering the street or raising the railroad grade.
https://www.wral.com/durham-s-can-opener-bridge-being-raised/18712577/

The street will likely be lowered as appropriate. This was done on I-85 north of Henderson recently to increase the vertical clearance under the 1960s cross roads. Cheaper, and just as effective compared to replacing all of them.

[cl94]

The (in)famous truck-eating overpass in Durham, the star of 11foot8.com, is being raised. Sort of. The Norfolk Southern Railway, which owns the bridge, has announced a project to increase the clearance from 11-foot-8 to 12-foot-4. Somehow, I don't know how, they can do this without lowering the street or raising the railroad grade.
https://www.wral.com/durham-s-can-opener-bridge-being-raised/18712577/

RIP. Glad I had the chance to visit that infamous bridge back in 2018.

[rickmastfan67]

The street will likely be lowered as appropriate.

Doubt it.  They said the 'work' would take only 8 hours per the article, even though it will be closed for 2 weeks.

Gregson Street under the bridge will be closed from Oct. 23 to Nov. 5. The actual work is scheduled for Oct. 30 and is expected to take about eight hours.

[amroad17]

Hopefully, trucks will not drive through the construction area.  I mean, the red traffic signal and the "OVERHEIGHT" sign did not deter them before! 

[LM117]

They're finally gonna increase the clearance.

https://www.cbs17.com/news/durhams-infamous-can-opener-bridge-to-be-raised/

[goobnav]

The (in)famous truck-eating overpass in Durham, the star of 11foot8.com, is being raised. Sort of. The Norfolk Southern Railway, which owns the bridge, has announced a project to increase the clearance from 11-foot-8 to 12-foot-4. Somehow, I don't know how, they can do this without lowering the street or raising the railroad grade.
https://www.wral.com/durham-s-can-opener-bridge-being-raised/18712577/

Actually the NC Railroad owns the bridge, not Norfolk Southern, they have trackage rights.  Technically this is a NCDOT job.

[froggie]

Wordage in a few of the articles suggests they're raising the bridge and not lowering the road.  I've asked the city for clarification.

[froggie]

Wordage in a few of the articles suggests they're raising the bridge and not lowering the road.  I've asked the city for clarification.

Got clarification that they're raising the bridge, not lowering the roadway.  The 8 inch increase is the max they can do without impacting the nearby Duke St at-grade crossing.

[wdcrft63]

Wordage in a few of the articles suggests they're raising the bridge and not lowering the road.  I've asked the city for clarification.

Got clarification that they're raising the bridge, not lowering the roadway.  The 8 inch increase is the max they can do without impacting the nearby Duke St at-grade crossing.

Good; this explains a lot. Obviously the bridge is not being replaced, since that would take a lot longer. It must be they're going to jack it up 8 inches: that will be interesting to watch.

NCDOT has said nothing about this project or the street closure; it looks like it is strictly an NC Railroad/Durham City project.

[wdcrft63]

They're finally gonna increase the clearance.

https://www.cbs17.com/news/durhams-infamous-can-opener-bridge-to-be-raised/

Discussion of this is on the North Carolina thread. I started that discussion, and I knew this thread existed, but I failed to find it.

[wanderer2575]

I don't in any way excuse the irresponsibility of drivers who are ignorant of their vehicle heights and the clearances of underpasses, but I wonder if a more explicit warning sign might have prevented some of these crashes.  "Overheight Must Turn" comes across as a general point of information.  If the sign said something like "YOU Are Overheight, YOU Must Turn NOW," perhaps more drivers would realize their danger.

[rickmastfan67]

They're finally gonna increase the clearance.

https://www.cbs17.com/news/durhams-infamous-can-opener-bridge-to-be-raised/

Discussion of this is on the North Carolina thread. I started that discussion, and I knew this thread existed, but I failed to find it.

I can split it out later and merge it into this thread.

[BrianP]

I don't in any way excuse the irresponsibility of drivers who are ignorant of their vehicle heights and the clearances of underpasses, but I wonder if a more explicit warning sign might have prevented some of these crashes.  "Overheight Must Turn" comes across as a general point of information.  If the sign said something like "YOU Are Overheight, YOU Must Turn NOW," perhaps more drivers would realize their danger.

An indicator sign was installed a few years ago. In the video earlier in the thread you can see it turn on but the driver still hits the bridge.

[LM117]

Wordage in a few of the articles suggests they're raising the bridge and not lowering the road.  I've asked the city for clarification.

Got clarification that they're raising the bridge, not lowering the roadway.  The 8 inch increase is the max they can do without impacting the nearby Duke St at-grade crossing.

Good; this explains a lot. Obviously the bridge is not being replaced, since that would take a lot longer. It must be they're going to jack it up 8 inches: that will be interesting to watch.

NCDOT has said nothing about this project or the street closure; it looks like it is strictly an NC Railroad/Durham City project.

A tidbit from this article details how it will be done.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/traffic/article236517198.html

The street will close Wednesday for two weeks so the N.C. Railroad can elevate the bridge eight inches. When the street reopens Nov. 5, the clearance of the bridge will have been raised from 11 feet 8 inches to a more truck-friendly 12 feet 4 inches.

The N.C. Railroad, which owns the rail line, will use jacks to carefully lift the steel beams that carry the tracks over the street, then slide new plates between the beams and concrete piers, said Jim Kessler, the railroad's vice president of engineering. At the same time, crews from Norfolk Southern, which leases the rail line, will raise the tracks on both sides of the bridge, creating a gradual eight-inch change in grade.

And the warning system will remain.

Then three years ago, the N.C. Department of Transportation installed a traffic signal at Gregson and Peabody streets, just before the bridge, that turns red when a truck that's too high trips a laser beam across the street. An LED message next to the red light reads "Overheight Must Turn,"  warning the driver before the light turns green.

The warning has helped, but doesn't prevent inattentive drivers or those racing to get through the red light from getting jolted. Henn's website includes videos of seven bridge strikes this year.

The warning system will remain, said NCDOT spokesman Marty Homan. NCDOT will adjust the height of the laser beam and install new warning signs to reflect the new clearance of the bridge, Homan said.

[planxtymcgillicuddy]

Wordage in a few of the articles suggests they're raising the bridge and not lowering the road.  I've asked the city for clarification.

Got clarification that they're raising the bridge, not lowering the roadway.  The 8 inch increase is the max they can do without impacting the nearby Duke St at-grade crossing.

Good; this explains a lot. Obviously the bridge is not being replaced, since that would take a lot longer. It must be they're going to jack it up 8 inches: that will be interesting to watch.

NCDOT has said nothing about this project or the street closure; it looks like it is strictly an NC Railroad/Durham City project.

A tidbit from this article details how it will be done.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/traffic/article236517198.html

The street will close Wednesday for two weeks so the N.C. Railroad can elevate the bridge eight inches. When the street reopens Nov. 5, the clearance of the bridge will have been raised from 11 feet 8 inches to a more truck-friendly 12 feet 4 inches.

The N.C. Railroad, which owns the rail line, will use jacks to carefully lift the steel beams that carry the tracks over the street, then slide new plates between the beams and concrete piers, said Jim Kessler, the railroad's vice president of engineering. At the same time, crews from Norfolk Southern, which leases the rail line, will raise the tracks on both sides of the bridge, creating a gradual eight-inch change in grade.

And the warning system will remain.

Then three years ago, the N.C. Department of Transportation installed a traffic signal at Gregson and Peabody streets, just before the bridge, that turns red when a truck that's too high trips a laser beam across the street. An LED message next to the red light reads "Overheight Must Turn,"  warning the driver before the light turns green.

The warning has helped, but doesn't prevent inattentive drivers or those racing to get through the red light from getting jolted. Henn's website includes videos of seven bridge strikes this year.

The warning system will remain, said NCDOT spokesman Marty Homan. NCDOT will adjust the height of the laser beam and install new warning signs to reflect the new clearance of the bridge, Homan said.

R.I.P. 11'8.

[planxtymcgillicuddy]

They're finally gonna increase the clearance.

https://www.cbs17.com/news/durhams-infamous-can-opener-bridge-to-be-raised/

Gonna miss seeing the box trucks getting some took off the top. But, there's several other under-height bridges in the area. Maybe one is close to an office building so we can get more footage.