11 Foot 8 Inch Bridge Strikes Again

Low-clearance railroad span in Durham, Northward Carolina

Norfolk Southern–Gregson Street Overpass
View of overpass from its northern arroyo. Photograph is earlier signalization was added. (2015)
Coordinates	35°59′56.66″N 78°54′36.83″West  /  35.9990722°Due north 78.9102306°Westward  / 35.9990722; -78.9102306 Coordinates: 35°59′56.66″Due north 78°54′36.83″W  /  35.9990722°North 78.9102306°Due west  / 35.9990722; -78.9102306
Carries	Amtrak Norfolk Southern Railway
Crosses	South Gregson Street
Locale	Durham, North Carolina, U.S.
Official name	Norfolk Southern–Gregson Street Overpass
Other name(s)	eleven-human foot-8 Bridge 11-foot-8+8 Bridge Can Opener Bridge The Can Opener Gregson Street Guillotine
Possessor	North Carolina Railroad
Structure Number	000000000630068
Characteristics
Design	Stringer/Multi-axle or Girder
Material	Steel
Total length	92 feet (28 k)
No. of spans	2
Clearance beneath	12 ft 4 in (3.76 m) (as of October 2019[update])
History
Construction end	1940; 82 years agone  (1940)
Rebuilt	October 2019; 2 years ago  (2019-10)
Statistics
Daily traffic	xi,000 (2003) with vi% of truck traffic
Location

The Norfolk Southern–Gregson Street Overpass (normally known every bit the 11-foot-eight Bridge or 11-foot-8+8 Bridge mail service-raising and nicknamed The Can Opener or The Gregson Street Guillotine) is a railroad span in Durham, Due north Carolina, United States. The 82-year-one-time bridge allows passenger and freight trains to cross over South Gregson Street in downtown Durham.

The bridge was designed in the 1920s and built in 1940, with a clearance for vehicles of eleven feet 8 inches (3.56 one thousand), the standard peak at the time information technology opened. Since 1973, the standard clearance for bridges was increased to a minimum height of xiv feet (4.27 yard), which is 2 anxiety 4 inches (0.71 m) higher than the bridge as congenital.^[1] Despite numerous warning signs virtually the low clearance, a large number of trucks, buses, and RVs have collided with the overpass at loftier speed, tearing off roof fixtures, and at times shearing off the trucks' roofs, earning the span the nicknames the "Can Opener" and the "Gregson Street Guillotine".^{[2] [3] [four]}

In Oct 2019, the Due north Carolina Railroad Company, which owns the bridge and tracks, raised the bridge past 8 inches (twenty cm) to 12 anxiety 4 inches (3.76 k) to reduce collisions (although that is even so well below the standard height of 14ft).^[5]

The span gained fame as a nearby office worker, Jürgen Henn, set up upward cameras in 2008 to runway the collisions with the span. Henn has recorded over 100 collisions with the bridge, including those after the bridge raising, and the YouTube channel he set upwards^[6] to showcase his recordings has 226,000 subscribers and more than 71 meg views. Despite the number of crashes, there take been but 3 injuries reported, making rebuilding of the bridge a low-priority concern.^[vii]

Official actions [edit]

A view from under the bridge, facing traffic. Simply below the bridge is a wide-flange steel H-beam to protect it from over-tiptop trucks. The beam's web is horizontal to ameliorate absorb the shear force of truck collisions. The vertical flanges spread the impact.

The state of North Carolina owns the North Carolina Railroad Company, which owns the land and the bridge. North Carolina Railroad owns no rolling stock, merely leases tracks to Amtrak and Norfolk Southern Railway.^[8] A heavy steel crash beam protects the span from over-tiptop trucks simply does not prevent crashes or protect the trucks, instead acting to create a "tin can opener effect" equivalent to the opening of a sardine tin can where the top of the over-height truck is peeled back from its frame. The crash beam has been hit and so oftentimes that it had to exist replaced at to the lowest degree in one case.

The problem is complicated past the location of Peabody Street, which runs parallel to the tracks, and intersects Gregson, but earlier the bridge. Not all trucks traveling on Gregson will keep nether the bridge. Some large trucks must plow correct onto Peabody to make their deliveries. Over-peak trucks are allowed on Gregson, as long as they turn merely earlier the bridge.

New traffic bespeak [edit]

In May 2016, the city attempted to solve the problem by installing a traffic signal at the intersection, removing the yellowish warning beacons in render.^[9] When an over-height truck approaches, the signal cycles to red and a blank-out sign affixed to the bespeak's mast arm illuminates flashing the message "OVERHEIGHT MUST TURN" in white. The signal will eventually turn dark-green fifty-fifty if the over-height vehicle chooses not to turn. The intention of the signal'south long filibuster would give drivers time to realize their trucks will not fit under the bridge. On May 12, 2016, the signal was turned on and a truck did not crash into the bridge until July 7.^{[nine] [10]} Notwithstanding, trucks have continued to hit the bridge despite this, possible reasons being that local buses normally fit underneath only the sensors display the overheight message anyhow and that drivers of such vehicles may think that the "OVERHEIGHT MUST Plow" alarm is triggered by some other nearby vehicle, and not theirs. There are also cases where if the over-acme object is smaller, like a RV'southward air-conditioning unit or vent, that object may be too small for the sensor which triggers the sign to calorie-free up.^[11]

Traffic separation report [edit]

In 2014, the Northward Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Track Sectionalization and the City of Durham began a "Traffic Separation Report" of eighteen runway crossings over a 12-mile (19 km) section of the railroad. Gregson Street is in the middle of that department of rails but was not mentioned in the written report. The study focused on eliminating at-grade crossings, not on fixing grade-separated crossings such as the i at Gregson. At that place take been iv deaths and 2 other injuries in the study area since 1991, compared to only iii minor injuries at Gregson.

The study did recommend replacing the bridge at Roxboro Street because it only has a vertical clearance of 11 anxiety 4 inches (3.45 m), and "many trucks have gotten stuck under the Roxboro Street railroad span."^[seven] Local news take also reported crashes at this site.^{[12] [xiii]}

Raising [edit]

In October 2019, the North Carolina Railroad Company began piece of work to enhance the bridge by 8 inches (0.20 m) as function of a $500,000 project to meliorate condom and reduce damage to the span. The bridge was raised to a new height of 12 feet 4 inches (3.76 m), the maximum clearance that would non affect the grades of nearby crossings. It was further stated that the form had to be improved for safety reasons to permit the trains to go faster. The unabridged projection was expected to take two weeks to complete, although the actual raising on October 30, 2019, only took eight hours.^{[14] [5]}

The new height is still far lower than the typical span clearance, so the system of alarm signals and the baby-sit barrier remained in place. Xx-two days after it was raised, another collision occurred on November 26, 2019. The bridge continues to snag some vehicles as captured by the 11'8" website.^[15]

Media and internet coverage [edit]

A section of one of Jürgen Henn's videos showing a truck hitting the bridge

Jürgen Henn, who works in a nearby office, mounted several video cameras to record the crashes from unlike angles.^[16] Since Apr 2008, he has recorded over 100 crashes, and posted them on YouTube.^[17] The videos gradually attracted the attention of a local TV station,^[eighteen] and somewhen progressed to international media attending.^[19] The bridge is only ane of several nether-height bridges in the expanse that trucks frequently crash into;^[12] however, the videos became popular, and brought this particular bridge to international media attention, including front-page coverage in The Wall Street Journal,^{[xix] [17]} on an episode^{[ which? ]} of the Comedy Central tv set evidence Tosh.0,^{[ commendation needed ]} on an episode of the CBC Radio radio program Every bit Information technology Happens in Canada,^[20] on the Portuguese language Brazilian TerraTV,^[21] on Stuff (website) in New Zealand,^[22] in the Hebrew language Israeli paper Maariv,^[23] in the Spanish language Peruvian newspaper El Comercio,^[24] on the Irish iRadio,^[25] in the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet,^[26] on News.com.au in Australia,^[27] on the Italian language radio station Rai Radio 2,^[28] on the French television news aqueduct La Chaîne Info,^[29] and on a video past popular YouTuber videogamedunkey.^[30]

In April 2019, the camera captured the sound of a nearby gas explosion which killed two and injured 25 people.^[31]

Run across also [edit]

• Structure gauge § Accidents
• Montague Street Bridge
• Bayswater Span

References [edit]

1. ^ The American Association of State Highway Officials (1973). "1". STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS for HIGHWAY BRIDGES (Eleventh ed.). Washington, D.C.: the Association General Offices. p. 12. Retrieved November 2, 2019. By the Authority Vested By Part 5 of the U.s.a. Lawmaking § 552(a) and Office one of the Code of Regulations § 51 the fastened document has been duly INCORPORATED By REFERENCE and shall be considered legally binding upon all citizens and residents of the United States of America. Listen THIS NOTICE: Criminal penalties may apply for noncompliance.
2. ^ Gutierrez, Gabe (January 7, 2016). "This Span Continues Wreaking Havoc on Unsuspecting Truck Drivers". NBC Nightly News. NBC News. Retrieved Jan 7, 2016.
3. ^ Gibbs, Tamara (June 22, 2015). "Trucks Hitting Same Durham Bridge Hours Autonomously". Eyewitness News. Durham, NC: WTVD-TV. Retrieved Jan viii, 2016.
4. ^ Mitchell, David (April 12, 2013). "Video: Trucks Nail into Bridge Time Later on Fourth dimension Afterwards Fourth dimension". Denver: KDVR-TV. Retrieved January seven, 2016.
5. ^ ^{a b} Krueger, Sarah (October 21, 2019). "Durham's 'can opener bridge' being raised". WRAL.com. Capitol Broadcasting Company. Archived from the original on Oct 23, 2019. Retrieved Oct 23, 2019.
6. ^ "yovo68 – About". YouTube . Retrieved October 18, 2020.
7. ^ ^{a b} Westward, Matthew (March 27, 2014). Traffic Separation Study (TSS) (Written report). City of Durham, North Carolina. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
8. ^ Robertson, Gary D. (November 26, 2012). "NC lawmakers seeking more from railroad company". The Daily Herald. Roanoke Rapids, NC. Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 1, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
9. ^ ^{a b} Williams, Chris (July viii, 2016). "Truck Slams Into Durham'southward 'Can Opener' Bridge Despite New Warning System". Spectrum News. Time Warner Cable. Retrieved Jan viii, 2017.
10. ^ "Very hungry canopener span defeats fancy, new warning organisation". 11foot8. July 7, 2016.
11. ^ "Camper A/C units chewed off by hungry 11foot8+eight bridge". 11foot8. March 31, 2021.
12. ^ ^{a b} "Another Truck Slams Into Durham Bridge, Gets Stuck". Eyewitness News. Durham, NC: WTVD-TV. August 6, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
13. ^ "Tractor-trailer hits Roxboro Street bridge in Durham". Raleigh, NC: WRAL-TV. Dec nine, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
14. ^ Hyland, Michael (October 21, 2019). "Durham'southward infamous 'can opener' bridge to be raised". CBS17. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
15. ^ Frauenfelder, Mark (Nov 30, 2019). "Tin can-opener bridge, recently raised eight inches, claims some other victim". Boing Boing . Retrieved December 30, 2019.
16. ^ Black, Jonathan (October 30, 2019). "The Duke Employee Backside the 'Can Opener Bridge' Cam". Duke Today.
17. ^ ^{a b} Cohen, Ben (Jan 6, 2016). "The Joys of Watching a Bridge Shave the Tops off Trucks". The Wall Street Journal. ProQuest 1755090313. Retrieved Jan 7, 2016.
18. ^ Hartness, Erin (March 18, 2009). "Man'due south videos span year of trucks striking Durham bridge". WRAL-TV. Raleigh, NC. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
19. ^ ^{a b} Hooley, Danny (January 6, 2016). "A Little off the Acme: Durham's 'Canopener Span' Makes the Front end Page of the Wall Street Periodical". Indy Week . Retrieved January viii, 2016.
20. ^ "N Carolina 'can opener' span to be raised after years of shearing tops off trucks". As It Happens. October 25, 2019. CBC Radio.
21. ^ "Vídeo traz coletânea de caminhões batendo em ponte" [Video brings a drove of trucks hitting a bridge]. TerraTV (in Brazilian Portuguese). October 20, 2013.
22. ^ O'Carroll, Damien (November 5, 2021). "The 11 human foot 8 span strikes again (and again)". Stuff.
23. ^ "גשר צר מאוד: הסוף לגשר הויראלי שריסק את גגות המשאיות" [Very narrow bridge: the end of the viral bridge that smashed the roofs of trucks]. Maariv (in Hebrew). Oct 24, 2019.
24. ^ "Conoce al Puente abrelatas, el terror de los camiones [VIDEO]" [Come across the Can Opener Bridge, the terror of trucks [VIDEO]]. El Comercio (in Spanish). February 11, 2017.
25. ^ "At that place's a bridge in the U.s. that people won't stop crashing into". iRadio. Nov five, 2021.
26. ^ Sørensen, Anders Borup (October 31, 2012). "TV: Verdens farligste bro" [TV: The world's nigh dangerous bridge]. Ekstra Bladet (in Danish).
27. ^ Lambert, Olivia (May 4, 2016). "The overpass rivalling Melbourne's notorious Montague Street Bridge". news.com.au.
28. ^ "Gli Sbandati di Radio ii" [The Strangers of Radio 2]. Rai Radio ii (in Italian).
29. ^ Fauroux, Virginie (September xx, 2016). "Vidéo - Etats-Unis : la malédiction du pont "scalpeur" de camions" [Video - The states: the curse of the "scalping" truck span]. La Chaîne Info (in French).
30. ^ The Truck Killing Bridge , retrieved Jan 24, 2022
31. ^ "Durham explosion: Camera on span caught audio of blast". WTVD. Apr x, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2021.

External links [edit]

• 11foot8.com
• Overheight must plough on Vimeo (12-minute documentary about bridge and Henn's website)

howellbrappe.blogspot.com

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk_Southern%E2%80%93Gregson_Street_Overpass

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