I know there is a metal bar set up below the bridge so the bridge itself doesn’t get destroyed. But it would be weakened over time and then a passing train could destroy it because in one of those views it looked like the bridge itself wobbled a bit from impact.
Seems to me a major catastrophe is on the way here. I think the city need to do more to prevent this from happening. Maybe additional bars in front of that metal bar. Maybe a laser detection system that triggers loud alarms, or better yet, triggers a giant airbag that comes down in front of the truck driver.
Or they could put such warning systems on the 3 roads that potentially lead up to this bridge.
I can’t shake the feeling that it could be viral marketing on behalf of swimmingpool.com.
Did someone in their marketing team see these videos and say if we crash a truck into that bridge people will see our name!
This is an ongoing problem in Toronto, trucks plowing into the 3.5 meter high railway bridge near me. I was there a few years ago when it happened and man was it loud – but some local just shrugged and said it happened all the time.
21st century vehicular transport an 19th c rail infrastructure are not a great mix.
It’s amazing how much kinetic energy can be absorbed by the removal of a roof. I wonder how much more initial velocity would have been needed for the trailer to pass all the way through, leaving its roof on the road.
Actually not a bad idea. Blowing out all the tires on the rig would lower the height by quite a few inches very quickly, potentially saving the actual metal bits of the truck. Of course, I wouldn’t want to be the car driver caught by that because some meathead truck driver was ignoring the sign at the same time I was driving through.
Just slightly faster, by the look of it. He came within a foot or two of making it through. I think the commenter above who suggested sharpening the barrier had the right idea. Just cut the top cleanly off. Less damage that way.
To be fair it would require millions of dollars of infrastructure changes there and only there. They could remove the offending section of sewer and put in a force main and keep the works contained to a pretty small area. Sanitary pump stations are more problematic than storm ones, but needing to lift @ roads cut under old railroads is pretty common.
For sure. Later in the thread I upgraded my assessment to “billions”. There are a lot of potential issues other than just the mechanical challenges of the sewer if the road were lowered: given all the roads that frontage the rail right-of-way, lowering the road just a few feet would mean regrading at least four blocks (on Peabody and Pettigrew), half of which are highly trafficked pedestrian retail areas in historically protected buildings. You’re talking reconfiguring retail entrances, restructuring sidewalks, maybe even reinforcing foundations… It’s a complicated area.
Another solution might be to put width limiting barriers in place. Even if drivers forget about their height, they generally will slow down considerably if they need to navigate through a tight choke point and this may give the drivers time to consider if they fit.
Traffic calming is a challenge, too, because this is a state road and an emergency route. Some additional calming might be possible but there’s already a reduced speed limit, a reduced shoulder, and a zebra crossing on the lead-up to the underpass.
