It has happened at least 64 times. Tractor trailers continue to crash into the CSX Railroad Bridge over Young Street in the city of Tonawanda.
The trailers are too high for the low deck and the end result is inevitably a spectacular crash.
Officials have tried everything to try to warn the truckers.
A sign warns of a low CSX bridge that has caused 64 bridge-truck accidents since 2000, photographed in Tonawanda, New York, on July 7, 2022. A new innovative project of 1.2 million dollars designed to improve security in Tonawanda will enable the implementation of a new innovative project of $ 1.2 million. warning and diversion system to eliminate frequent accidents on the bridge.
They have put up signs. They have banned trucks on Young Street. They have had ticket attacks. They have planned to dig under the bridge, but realized that this could cause flooding and problems for the alley that crosses it with Young.
Now, they say they have finally found a solution: laser beams.
On Thursday, MP Brian Higgins, Assemblyman Bill Conrad and Tonawanda Mayor John White announced a $ 1.2 million project funded by the federal government to install infrared sensors that ‘would be used to activate an electronic signal to alert drivers of the low bridge in front and redirect them to a safer route.
“It’s a warning system,” Higgins said.
He defended the $ 1.2 million price tag.
“It’s a small investment for the safety of the city,” Higgins said.
The constant accidents have been a headache for Tonawanda City Council, but surprisingly no one has been injured in any of the accidents and the bridge is not moving.
But the crashes litter traffic, closing the narrow road for hours as teams work to evacuate trucks and clean up debris. Trailers are often destroyed in crashes, with the top cut off.
Up and down Young Street, several signs alert drivers to the bridge in front.
Congressman Brian Higgins addresses the media about a low CSX bridge that has caused more than 60 accidents, accompanied by state Rep. Bill Conrad on the left, Tonawanda Major John White in the center right, and the Captain Fredric Foels at Tonawanda, New York, July 7, 2022. Libby March / Buffalo News
Several bright yellow signs say, “11′-6,” as in 11 feet, 6 inches. This is the height of the bridge, built over a century ago. Today, tractor trailers are generally 13 feet 6 inches.
But it seems that this has not been enough to get the attention of some truck drivers.
Flashing lights on an electronic signal should do the trick, White said.
“We hope it ends with that,” he said.
Police Captain Fred Foels was especially pleased to hear the new high-tech solution to the low bridge problem. That’s why officials know exactly how often trucks collide with the Young Street Bridge.
In 2000, when he was a lieutenant in the records department, he noticed the strange phenomenon.
So he started keeping track in a folder of every truck-bridge crash. All 64 times.
He said in most cases, drivers blame their GPS systems.
Drivers say they relied on a GPS system on their phones, such as those installed on iPhones and other mobile phones, instead of commercial GPS systems designed for truck drivers, which alerted them to special situations, such as restricted roads. of weight, or low structures, including bridges.
“We come across this, where they blame it on their GPS. They’re lost. They have to get to a destination. They’re looking around,” Foels said.
But he thinks this is a bad excuse.
“That’s part of being a truck driver – being aware of all the signs and everything,” he said.
Even near-accidents cause problems, Foels said.
“We had a near-accident on May 31,” he said. The driver managed to stop long before the bridge. But then the police had to cut off traffic so the driver could back down safely.
Captain Fredric Foels has documented each of the 64 truck-bridge accidents on the CSX Bridge over Young Street near Glenwood Avenue. Foels depicts a portrait under the Tonawanda Bridge, New York, July 7, 2022. Officials have just announced a new innovative $ 1.2 million project designed to improve security in the city of Tonawanda, which will allow the implementation of a new warning system and diversion route to eliminate frequent accidents on the bridge. Libby March / Buffalo News
At Thursday’s press conference announcing the new project, Higgins criticized CSX for not taking steps to prevent accidents.
A CSX spokesman earlier told The Buffalo News in an emailed statement that the railway company inspects the bridge after each accident and that it is “100% structurally sound and safe for train movements”.
CSX said building the bridge would be “a major engineering project with impacts on many other bridges,” and that signage on the bridge “would restrict our ability to conduct visual inspections.”
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