Disaster Bridge Video: This 11’8″ Span In Massachusetts Eats Trucks and Bad Drivers For Lunch!


Disaster Bridge Video: This 11’8″ Span In Massachusetts Eats Trucks and Bad Drivers For Lunch!

(By Greg Rourke)  – Low clearance bridges are the bane of the trucking industry. Legal height for trucks is 13’6″, but that doesn’t mean they can just go anywhere. Case in point: East Bridge Street, Westwood, Massachusetts.

Perhaps less famous than the 11’8″ bridge in Durham, North Carolina, but just as lethal. The bridge in Durham now has a low clearance detector that goes off with a flashing message and a red light when an overheight truck approaches. This has cut down on the carnage considerably, but it still happens. The bridge in Westwood is 10’6″, a foot less height, but twice the fun!
Some fun loving neighbor must have a web cam trained on this killer to capture all the action. We have all manner of box trucks being reduced to fiberglass splinters, much like a Funny Car blower explosion in the 70’s. The bodies on these things are really not very sturdy, just about strong enough to support the roof. They rely on the structural shape of the box, so when one part of the box is removed, hilarity ensues.
The structure seems to be clearly marked. To add to the trouble, it’s narrow. We have a couple cars bouncing off the curb and into oncoming traffic. I was pretty disappointed when the overpass claimed a fire truck, I assume it wasn’t a local fire company who would be aware of the situation.
Why does this sort of problem even exist? These railroad bridges were built 100 years ago, there wasn’t much of a standard. Elevating the bridge now would be prohibitively expensive, since miles of right of way and other bridges would have to be raised as well. Lowering the road causes other problems, as sewer and other utilities likely run under it and would also have to be moved or lowered. If there was truly no other way to get from Point A to Point B then they would have to do something, but there’s usually another way. It’s not like they are constructing 10 foot bridges today.
The first half of the video is exciting enough, but keep watching. The last episode has a refrigerated truck, his situation becomes even more of a problem for all concerned. Somewhere in Massachusetts a supermarket isn’t getting it’s milk, eggs, and baloney delivered.


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14 thoughts on “Disaster Bridge Video: This 11’8″ Span In Massachusetts Eats Trucks and Bad Drivers For Lunch!

  1. Gary Smrtic

    What? No double decker bus? I’m dissappointed.
    What the hell was that guy carrying, anyway?
    And what kind of douchebag drives a truck with whatever it was, wearing shorts and flip-flops?

  2. Crazy

    If a basic box truck won’t clear it you’d think when it’s time to repave they grind out the road , dig a little and then repave.
    I’m sure it’s been repaved many times since the bridge was put up..
    .

    1. Spaceman Spiff

      Standard truck height is 13’6″. The bridge is 10’6″. You’re not going to get three feet from grinding the road.

  3. Gary Perkinson

    Oh, man, I did this in a rental truck while moving from Danbury, CT, in 1996. I had driven the same route to work in my car every day for about three years, so the truck height didn’t even cross my mind as I approached the bridge. Then it was a like a bomb went off. For whatever reason, I kept my foot in it and made it all the way through–sheared the top off like a tin can. Hot, curly pieces of metal were flying off, and one actually damaged a car coming the other way. Luckily, I had taken full, drive-off-a-cliff insurance on the truck–as the unhappy guy at the rental car place said, “You almost bought yourself a $17,000 truck…” D’oh!

  4. b

    had to watch the cars again, it appears not only is the overpass low but the road narrows too, gots to have a sidewalk!

  5. Joel

    Ugh, as a truck driver I can’t even get pleasure from watching this. makes me sick to my stomach, poor dumb bastards are having the worst day of their careers…

  6. oldguy

    The best part of this bridge is when an event occurs , the locals in traffic behind
    the truck calmly slow down , stop , evaluate the wreck and do a 180 and take the long way home. No one gets out of the cars, checks on the driver etc.
    The local rail authority wants to raise this bridge , presented a plan several years ago that was rejected by the town …..but the curb billiards into the other lane have nothing to do with the height – that’s just driving with head up ass .

  7. Dave

    I’ve never seen such a slow, ineffective response by the fire department as these guys achieve. Strictly amateur hour.

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