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Low RR Bridge in Durham, NC

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Posted by mudchicken on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 11:07 PM

rvos1979
Per Twisted Truckers, the bridge in Enid, OK got another truck today..........
 

Got a nice video of it from behind too!

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
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Posted by Wizlish on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 11:54 AM

Phoebe Vet
Downstate NY does, indeed, have parkways where commercial vehicles are not allowed except for some very limited circumstances.

And intentionally designed, under the direction of the infamous Robert Moses, to have restricted clearances to keep the 'usual' sorts of commercial vehicle off them.

Every so often there is a major disaster on the East River Drive under Carl Schurz Park, where there is a height restriction  EXITING southbound that is not seen anywhere coming up on the usual roads from the Southern United States.  One poor driver from North Carolina or thereabouts had a full trailer load of sheetrock wall panels ... stacked vertically on his trailer.  He encountered the gently falling tunnel ceiling while going, probably, at reasonably good speed... a few minutes before morning rush-hour traffic started to build.  When my father saw the result, every piece of sheetrock was broken and bent, and acting as a kind of pawl bending the trailer frame down and preventing it from being backed out.  Apparently people with hammers had to 'reduce' every single panel, including breaking the gypsum away from the face paper on both sides, to get the thing out...

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Posted by blue streak 1 on Friday, January 15, 2016 2:14 AM

It may be that NC was a state that had a lower height limit before congress passed the uniform truck dimension law. ( revised several times and another effort underway ).  Know Virginia did and probably Illinois looking at all their low bridges.

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Posted by NodakRanger on Thursday, January 14, 2016 10:23 PM

Eisenhower is normally closed to hazmat, which means going over Loveland Pass.

But when Loveland Pass is closed due to weather, they allow hazmat through the tunnels. The first 10 minutes of every hour, all traffic is stopped, tunnels are cleared, hazmat goes through, tunnels are cleared, normal traffic goes.

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Posted by rvos1979 on Thursday, January 14, 2016 9:23 PM
Per Twisted Truckers, the bridge in Enid, OK got another truck today..........

Randy Vos

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Posted by matthewsaggie on Friday, January 8, 2016 11:09 PM

I was in Durham, NC today and noted that there is a second underpass about a half mile west of the infamous crossing that is also only 11 ft 8 inches. It's on 9th street. I guess the difference is that 9th is not a main truck route nor has anyone set up a camera. It does have the same heavy steel I-beams ahead of it that the other crossing has to protect the bridge. 

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Posted by Phoebe Vet on Friday, January 8, 2016 10:38 AM

Downstate NY does, indeed, have parkways where commercial vehicles are not allowed except for some very limited circumstances.

Dave

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Posted by tree68 on Friday, January 8, 2016 9:06 AM

erikem
I'm guessing the NY state road is one of the parkways where trucks are prohibited. The bridge would do a good job of enforcing the rule.

The road is actually open to anything that can clear the bridge, so that ten-wheeler dump truck (loaded) can use it as much as your family car.  Were it not for the cost and lack of other options, I'd guess that either the bridge would be raised, or totally removed.

I think "parkway" is more a name than a road classification there.

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Posted by caldreamer on Friday, January 8, 2016 8:40 AM

In Chambersburg, Pa, Queen street goes under the old Pennsylvania railroad (now Norfolk Southern) tracks that run from Hagerstown, Md to the Enola yard.  Before they lowered Queen Street, it was not uncommon for a truck to hit the granite blocks on the overpass.  The tracks are three tracks wide the Pennsylvnai railroad built it so strong that a nuclear weapon would not hurt them.  Many trucks ignored the warnings and either got stuck or peeled the top of their trailers off.  When they got stuck they usually had to let the air out the trailers tires to get it out from the overpass.

 

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Friday, January 8, 2016 6:51 AM

Deggesty

The Durham Can Opener made it to the NBC News Tonight this evening. It was sad to watch the truck drivers ignore the warning signs. There was even a shot of a Piedmont as it crossed over the street, as well as one of a freight train.

 
My wife caught that story before I got home from work.  She found it perversely amusing.
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Posted by erikem on Thursday, January 7, 2016 11:19 PM

tree68

 

rdamon
I think I would duck even in a car on this one ...

Problem there is that the road can't go any lower, and raising the bridge any appreciable distance would require a lot of fill...

I'm guessing the NY state road is one of the parkways where trucks are prohibited. The bridge would do a good job of enforcing the rule.

I'd also guess that parkways are cheaper to build due to not having to reinforce the roadway for 16,000 to 20,000 lb/axle and not having to provide more than 10' of clearance.

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Posted by Deggesty on Thursday, January 7, 2016 9:05 PM

I'm glad it was a dry van--less to pick up.

I hope the driver's replacement can comprehend signs better than he could.

Before I-15 was rebuilt through Salt Lake County in preparation for the Olympics, the overpass for 2700 South Street over I-15 was a bit low as it crossed the northbound, and there was a sensor south of the 3300 South exit, complete with the necessary warning to anyone whose vehicle was too high that the vehicle MUST exit at 3300 South. 

 

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Posted by rvos1979 on Thursday, January 7, 2016 8:56 PM
One of the Facebook groups I follow, Twisted Truckers, posted another one today, a 13 foot 6 inch truck went under a 12 foot bridge, the dry van is now a flatbed........

Driver no longer works for that company..........

Randy Vos

"Ever have one of those days where you couldn't hit the ground with your hat??" - Waylon Jennings

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Posted by Deggesty on Thursday, January 7, 2016 7:51 PM

The Durham Can Opener made it to the NBC News Tonight this evening. It was sad to watch the truck drivers ignore the warning signs. There was even a shot of a Piedmont as it crossed over the street, as well as one of a freight train.

Johnny

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Posted by Deggesty on Thursday, January 7, 2016 4:59 PM

mudchicken

The Eisenhower/Johnson tunnels on I-70 at the continental divide here in CO have electronic tell tales tied to traffic lights in advance of the tunnels. They still have issues every week.

 

MC, are there not also warnings against running hazmat through the tunnels? Whenever I had a shipment coming from Colorado Springs, it had to come over on I-70--which could easily delay transit in bad weather.

Johnny

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Posted by JoeKoh on Thursday, January 7, 2016 4:56 PM

The clinton st and it's cousin on Jefferson ave viaducts here in Defiance are quietly lurking for the next truck to come. Csx is trying to put a deal with the local and state people to aliviate the problem.Stay tuned.

stay safe

Joe

Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").

 

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Posted by mudchicken on Thursday, January 7, 2016 4:44 PM

The Eisenhower/Johnson tunnels on I-70 at the continental divide here in CO have electronic tell tales tied to traffic lights in advance of the tunnels. They still have issues every week.

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, January 7, 2016 2:37 PM

Deggesty

 

 
rdamon

Seems like there is plenty of room for some tell-tales around these bridges.

 

 

 

 

I expect a tell-tale with good weights at the bottom of the ropes could wake any driver to the danger ahead--if he knew what a tell-tale meant.

 

 

Deggesty
I expect a tell-tale with good weights at the bottom of the ropes could wake any driver to the danger ahead--if he knew what a tell-tale meant.

It might make things worse.  The driver might be so distracted by the racket of hitting the telltales that he/she wouldn't notice the very reason they were there...

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Posted by Deggesty on Thursday, January 7, 2016 1:57 PM

rdamon

Seems like there is plenty of room for some tell-tales around these bridges.

 

 

I expect a tell-tale with good weights at the bottom of the ropes could wake any driver to the danger ahead--if he knew what a tell-tale meant.

Johnny

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Posted by rdamon on Thursday, January 7, 2016 1:53 PM

Seems like there is plenty of room for some tell-tales around these bridges.

 

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Posted by Deggesty on Thursday, January 7, 2016 1:50 PM

That is quite a system. I'm glad that the setting sun will not be confused by it., nor will the red beam make a mistake.

"An infrared beam won't confuse the setting sun for a truck. And a visible red beam -- used in hunting scopes -- won't mistake snow for a truck."

But, what can you expect when "journalists" are not taught how to use the English language so they can communicate accurately?

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Posted by mudchicken on Thursday, January 7, 2016 1:44 PM

Paul_D_North_Jr
 
CBT
There is one railroad bridge somewhere that they painted a shark mouth on it so trucks would see it better.

 

Enid, Oklahoma (plus maybe some over in the U.K.).  Aside from the one Randy mentioned, here's a link to an article and a photo of it from an April 27, 2015 incident:

 

http://www.news9.com/story/28911147/another-semi-crashes-into-low-enid-railroad-bridge 

- Paul North.

 

Union Pacific can't be happy (Ex CRIP/OKT MP 341.5)...The sharkmouth is recent (not in 2013 Google Earth Image) - Did Uncle Pete bless off on the paint job?

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
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Posted by Paul of Covington on Thursday, January 7, 2016 1:28 PM

rdamon
rdamon wrote the following post 1 hours ago: I think I would duck even in a car on this one ...

    Odd illusion.   The sign says 10' 9", but it looks like half of that.

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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, January 7, 2016 1:06 PM

rdamon
I think I would duck even in a car on this one ...

Problem there is that the road can't go any lower, and raising the bridge any appreciable distance would require a lot of fill...

LarryWhistling
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Posted by rdamon on Thursday, January 7, 2016 11:50 AM

I think I would duck even in a car on this one ...

 

 

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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, January 7, 2016 11:23 AM

And right after I posted that, I saw a report that a truck hit the bridge this morning...

http://cnycentral.com/news/local/road-closed-after-tractor-trailer-crashes-into-bridge-debris-sent-flying

LarryWhistling
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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, January 7, 2016 11:17 AM

A low bridge on the CSX St. Lawrence Sub, just north of CP293, claimed the lives of four when a double decker intercity bus, whose driver had missed a turn and was essentially lost, hit it.  Since then a detector system has been installed.  It's been tripped over a hundred times, but the bridge has only been actually hit once since the system went in.

Prior, the bridge was hit a couple of times a year.

There are no intersections for a mile in one direction, and a half mile in the other, so a warning system has plenty of room with which to work.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/09/three_years_after_megabus_crash_is_onondaga_lake_parkways_bridge_warning_system.html

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Thursday, January 7, 2016 7:04 AM

The Chicago area has dozens of tight-clearance underpasses, especially in older parts of the city.  They are the residue of grade-crossing elimination through track elevation, much of which occurred between about 1890 and 1920.  A fair number of them are prone to flooding after heavy thunderstorms.  This shouldn't be too surprising when you consider that the parts of Chicago closer to the lake were once a swamp and have little to no natural drainage.

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Posted by Phoebe Vet on Thursday, January 7, 2016 6:48 AM

There are many bridges like that around the country, this one just has a camera pointed at it 24/7.  Some of them fill with water when it rains because the road has been lowered under them.  Others are deceptively labeled because the road has been lowered but not the approaches, so long vehicles come up under them.

Dave

Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow

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