Gregson St. railroad bridge's greatest hits ... or make that, decapitations
March 13, 2009
You know that old saying about watching a train wreck? That idea that you can't turn your eyes away from it?
Well, this isn't a train wreck, but one level below it. Literally: trucks wrecking on the underpass that runs below the N.C.R.R. railway at Gregson St. here in Durham.
Somebody at Brightleaf Square has apparently set up a camera looking out their office window, trained on the bridge -- probably, we'd suspect, to capture these moments, which thankfully have been all-fun and no-injuries to date. And now, they've been set into a compilation, a greatest-hits montage of the bridge's greatest truck encounters.
This week the viral video hit the popular web site Autoblog, and it didn't take readers very long the site to narrow this down to our own Bull City. Ah, something we can all be proud of. Er, sort of.
That's gotta suck! I wonder home many people driving commercial or rental trucks really know how tall their truck is? Apparently, there are quite a few who have no clue.
Posted by: SteveG | March 13, 2009 at 09:38 AM
That is awesome. I've seen several of these in the after-math, but what a good idea to set up a cam and capture the real thing. :)
Posted by: Sonja Foust | March 13, 2009 at 09:58 AM
I actually witnessed a truck "decapitation" once, not at this bridge but on a side street off of Club Blvd. - I think it was Farthing St. There are some huge oak trees on that street with some large branches that aren't quite high enough for a Ryder truck to get under. It wasn't a pretty sight.
Posted by: David McMullen | March 13, 2009 at 10:46 AM
Someone else edited several of these Gregson truck crashes together and set them to music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_f30IICpsY
Posted by: SteveG | March 13, 2009 at 11:07 AM
Ah, Durham bridges...providing the fate of so many large trucks. There should be another one on the 9th/Erwin bridge.
Posted by: Allen Kennedy | March 13, 2009 at 12:25 PM
New Durham slogan:
"Building Bridges, Killing Trucks"
Posted by: GoodThingsAreHappeninginDurham! | March 13, 2009 at 12:49 PM
Now that's traffic calming.
Posted by: Ray Gronberg | March 13, 2009 at 01:26 PM
Isn't this making it unsafe for everyone driving over or under this bridge? Seems like it would lead to a collapse eventually.
Posted by: jonn | March 13, 2009 at 03:40 PM
Ray, your comment cracked me up! Too bad that we don't have a low bridge like this over on E. Trinity.
Posted by: SteveG | March 13, 2009 at 04:37 PM
I once drove a 12 ' plus truck 1,300 miles from Canada to Durham and I was ALWAYS careful to mind-the-signs.
Blame the driver, not Durham.
Posted by: Keep Durham Beautiful | March 13, 2009 at 07:21 PM
Yeah, it is the driver's fault... but you still can't help but feel bad for the bill that Ryder/U-Haul/etc is going to hand them.....
I hope they paid $20 for the insurance :)
Posted by: Rob | March 13, 2009 at 11:27 PM
There's nothing that can be done to prevent this, so you may as well get some enjoyment from it. My hometown, Davenport, Iowa, has its own truck-eating bridge. There are huge signs starting about 10 miles back telling trucks to take an alternate route, as well as big yellow caution signs as you approach, yet at least once a month a truck crunches under it.
http://iowahwypix.tripod.com/qc/us61clear1.jpg
http://iowahwypix.tripod.com/qc/bridgewarn.jpg
http://iowahwypix.tripod.com/qc/rrbridge.jpg
Drivers I guess just either don't know how big their vehicles are, or they don't understand that the bridge won't magically grow so they can pass under it.
Posted by: Emily | March 14, 2009 at 02:07 PM
John: I've noticed when driving under this bridge that there's a steel I-beam a foot or so in front of it, at the same level as the bridge. It looks like it was put there specifically to take the impact of over-height vehicles. So they're not hitting the actual structure of the bridge.
Posted by: David McMullen | March 14, 2009 at 04:48 PM
yeah, i was in brightleaf today watching UNC lose at Satisfaction : ) and i noticed the bridge after leaving, any person with 2 eyes would have common sense enough to know they can't make that.
Posted by: Gabe | March 14, 2009 at 05:39 PM
But the TROSA truck should have known better!
Posted by: Natalie | March 15, 2009 at 09:21 AM
What about the yellow lights that are supposed to flash if your vehicle is overheight? They don't appear to do so in the video. Are they just fish bait?
Posted by: Gregor Samsa | March 15, 2009 at 10:52 AM
The bridge on Roxboro just before you hit Main St downtown is also a truck eater. I've seen a number of stuck trucks there over the years.
Posted by: jill | March 15, 2009 at 09:50 PM
It's interesting - the Gregson Street bridge, the 9th Street/Erwin Road bridge mentioned by Allen, and the Roxboro bridge mentioned by Jill are all railway bridges. I'm not sure who's responsible for the bridges - the track belongs to the state-owned NCRR but is leased to Norfolk Southern.
Posted by: David McMullen | March 15, 2009 at 10:46 PM
@ David McMullen: The steel I-beams in front of the Erwin Rd/9th St @ Main St RR underpass we put in about 4 months ago.
Posted by: Dan S. | March 16, 2009 at 09:50 AM
Actually when they hit the I-beam on gregson st. it does affect the bridge because the I-beam is braced against the cement footings of the bridge. I would hate to think what would happen if the train and truck arrive at the same time. Ouch!
Posted by: mike | March 16, 2009 at 10:44 AM
Ich habe gerade Ihre Website gefunden und wollte sagen, dass ich es wirklich genossen Durchsuchen Ihrer posts.In Jedenfalls habe ich in Ihrem Blog sein werde abonnieren und ich hoffe, Sie wieder nach bald
Posted by: Kamagra | August 17, 2011 at 11:26 PM