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volvoclearinghouse
volvoclearinghouse UltimaDork
8/30/24 8:44 a.m.

Even after they put up the clankers.

By odd coincidence, I drove under this bridge just yesterday (was traveling in the Wilmington area for work) and was amused by the "STOP NOW OR KABOOM" sign.

Nice that DDOT is developing a bit of a sense of humor about this now...

 

On a lighter note, The Legend diner in New Castle has a fantastic breakfast skillet.  I haven't not eaten all my breakfast in a long time.  So much food.  

Duke
Duke MegaDork
8/30/24 8:46 a.m.

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

Dude. That bridge is literally a mile from my house. DW used to drive under it every day.

If you're still in Wilmington area today, want to get lunch?

 

volvoclearinghouse
volvoclearinghouse UltimaDork
8/30/24 8:53 a.m.
Duke said:

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

Dude. That bridge is literally a mile from my house. DW used to drive under it every day.

If you're still in Wilmington area today, want to get lunch?

 

It was a day trip, left my house at 5AM yesterday and was home at 5PM, and all the time in between was spoken for.  I'm about a 2 hour drive from there.  Appreciate the offer though.  Next time I'm in the area I will let you know.  

NickD
NickD MegaDork
8/30/24 9:01 a.m.

Onondaga Lake Parkway bridge near me has a total of FORTY SIX signs and other warning devices, including flashing LED lights, and it still averages about one major impact a month. The DOT even hit it with their own truck a few months back, and then tried to spin some BS stories about how they didn't.

My new favorite "fix" was to reduce the parkway from 4 lanes to 2 lanes. So now, when something hits the bridge, it stops traffic completely, instead of just reducing it to one lane in that direction.

volvoclearinghouse
volvoclearinghouse UltimaDork
8/30/24 9:03 a.m.

In reply to NickD :

Needs MOAR CLANKERS.

NickD
NickD MegaDork
8/30/24 9:13 a.m.

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

Needs for people to LEARN HOW TO berkeleyING DRIVE. If you're in a truck, you should know the height, and there are 23 warning signs on approach from either direction. You should see at least one of them. Now, if you hit the bridge, you get ticketed individually for every single sign that you drove past. 

Datsun240ZGuy
Datsun240ZGuy MegaDork
8/30/24 9:18 a.m.

In Long Grove, Illinois there's a covered bridge that gets hit a lot.  Up to 58 times now.

Motojunky
Motojunky Reader
8/30/24 9:19 a.m.

A friend of mine used to have a Uhaul rental business just around the corner from the Casho Mill road bridge. There was a big sign at the counter warning customers to NOT take Casho Mill road in the Uhaul trucks. His son who worked at the shop, who probably looked at that sign thousands of times, hit the bridge with a Uhaul. I would imagine that dinner conversation was uncomfortable that evening. 

volvoclearinghouse
volvoclearinghouse UltimaDork
8/30/24 9:20 a.m.

I foresee the next phase as a railroad crossing-type gate to be triggered to lower when the over-height sensor goes off.  

Duke
Duke MegaDork
8/30/24 9:25 a.m.

In reply to NickD :

Casho Mill used to get hit monthly; or weekly during college move in / move out season.  The clankers have helped, but not ended the problem.

This is the CSX main line that runs straight through town.  This bridge is on the south side of town.  North of this are a 2 grade crossings, and then the next bridge north (Chapel Street is also low clearance, 13'-7").  It gets hit about once a year as well.  The last bridge, over a main road on the north side of town, is finally high enough to have decent clearance.

Chapel Street, about a mile north of Casho Mill:

 

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
8/30/24 9:35 a.m.

We've got two of those.  Most recently hit by a propane truck, got messy!

NickD
NickD MegaDork
8/30/24 9:35 a.m.

In reply to Duke :

The Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge is a confusing one, because the Parkway was originally a canal, and then the bridge overhead is the old RW&O bridge, now the St. Lawrence Subdivision. When they built the Parkway over the canal bed, it was supposed to be a scenic, two-lane, 30mph road but then it morphed into a 4-lane 55mph road partway through. So now, rather than drive through downtown Liverpool, all the truck drivers try to bypass it on the OLP and instead smash into this bridge. They can't dig the road down to increase the clearance because it's right on the lakefront and the Parkway would constantly flood. And the city asked CSX about raising the bridge and CSX's response was "Sure, if the city pays for the grading for miles in either direction and there is no disruption in our traffic, we'll raise it." When the city complained that would cost millions to do, CSX said "Well, then the bridge stays at the height it's at." Recent efforts have resulted in diverting some traffic off the Parkway, but now they've started hitting the equally low bridge over on State Street in Syracuse with equal frequency.

At the state model train show, someone has a layout with the Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge, complete with truck stuck under it and first responders on the scene.

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
8/30/24 9:36 a.m.

The other bridge a few miles away.  To lift the bridge, I guess you'd have to raise the RR Tracks a mile on each side of it.

Duke
Duke MegaDork
8/30/24 9:42 a.m.

In reply to NickD :

Yeah, CSX basically said, "We're tired of you idiots hitting our bridge and we're going to close your road and fill in the underpass."  To which the city replied, "No, you're berking NOT, because that road is the only way across your tracks on this end of town."

It's been dug down as deep as it can be because it is already the low point for most of the terrain in the area.  They had to add a big area drain to reduce the flooding.  They can't raise the line because then they won't make the grade crossings to the north.

In reply to 914Driver :

Wow.  I will bet that fire did wonders for the structural integrity of that span.

 

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
8/30/24 10:03 a.m.

In reply to 914Driver :

The Great Cornholio approves laugh

NickD
NickD MegaDork
8/30/24 10:06 a.m.
Duke said:

In reply to NickD :

Yeah, CSX basically said, "We're tired of you idiots hitting our bride and we're going to close your road and fill in the underpass."  To which the city replied, "No, you're berking NOT, because that road is the only way across your tracks on this end of town."

It's been dug down as deep as it can be because it is already the low point for most of the terrain in the area.  They had to add a big area drain to reduce the flooding.  They can't raise the line because then they won't make the grade crossings to the north.

The other option would be to fill the road level and turn it into a grade crossing. I know that's been proposed here.

slefain
slefain UltimaDork
8/30/24 10:13 a.m.

This is near where I grew up:



Every six months or so someone blasts through the warning signs and clangers. Luckily the gate keeper has stopped the last few cold.

Duke
Duke MegaDork
8/30/24 10:17 a.m.

In reply to NickD :

Yeah, given the terrain and surrounding houses, that's not an option here.  So they just eternally hope that people will stop being idiots.

 

NickD
NickD MegaDork
8/30/24 10:41 a.m.
Duke said:

In reply to NickD :

 So they just eternally hope that people will stop being idiots.

They'll be waiting a long while.

Duke
Duke MegaDork
8/30/24 10:44 a.m.
NickD said:
Duke said:

In reply to NickD :

 So they just eternally hope that people will stop being idiots.

They'll be waiting a long while.

I've lived here 30+ years and there's no improvement yet.

 

Recon1342
Recon1342 UltraDork
8/30/24 11:55 a.m.

You can lead an idiot to knowledge, but you can't make 'em think.

aircooled
aircooled MegaDork
8/30/24 12:38 p.m.

In reply to slefain :

I love this response.    If we can't keep people from driving under it, we will add a massive block before it that decapitates them before then even get to it!

NickD
NickD MegaDork
8/30/24 12:57 p.m.
aircooled said:

If we can't keep people from driving under it, we will add a massive block before it that decapitates them before then even get to it!

They don't need that head. They obviously weren't using it.

NOHOME
NOHOME MegaDork
8/30/24 1:04 p.m.

That reminds me, the Students are back to Western University this weekend. At least one of these events happens every year as they move into their houses.

Andy Neuman
Andy Neuman UltraDork
8/30/24 2:07 p.m.

I have always loved that sign when I pass through. KABOOM!  

But... All clearances should be 14 feet, had a truck get the roof ripped from a post hanging down from an awning this year. 

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