11 foot 8 the Canopener Bridge

I've seen multiple threads about it on the forum in various sections. I'm to lazy to search for them though .

 

Posting the city and location would help.

 

Might have read something about it on these forums before, anyway they have a website, http://11foot8.com/ guess another truck hit it last month.

 

sixty crashes since 2008? ######

 

Its a train trestle bridge in Durham NC between Peabody and Gregson Streets

There's also 11'8" bridges in Deleware and ATL, GA

 

But the GPS told the driver to take that route. I used to have an older Rand McNally that the company provided and it routed me into an 11'-6" bridge by Montrose. Since I am not a blind follower of the GPS I saw the bridge before I even made my right hand turn. The GPS was set up with the dimensions of the truck and not even a half mile down the road there was a rail road crossing where it did not require going under that tressle.

I did scare myself in January when I had to go under one of their elevated train structures in Chicago. I did stop and check since it was not marked for height and it looked close. After driving under it I heard some racket and saw sparks flying. I thought for sure I hit the lights and slammed on the brakes. When I got out to check on the damage I realized a train was running overhead. That gave me a pretty good scare and I couldn't wait to get out of Chicago fast enough.

 

I believe if a bridge is unmarked in Chicago, its at least 14 feet. Chicago is good about warning you about low bridges and routing around them. If you hit a low bridge in Chicago, you're an idiot!

 

The only time I almost hit a bridge was 25 years or so on the old US 23 in Western Virginia or Southern KY.
I was half asleep, trying to take the back route from Asheville, to Columbus, and came across a RR trestle on the side of a hill, at kind of an angle, I don't remember what it was marked, but it was under 13'.
I pulled over on the shoulder and beat my head against the steering wheel. It was late at night, dark, and no obvious place to turn around.
Luckily, about ten minutes later, a car pulled up next to me, and the driver told me that I could get under that bridge if I went under it in the oncoming traffic lane...'Trucks do it all the time'.


I did, made it, but still felt like a dumbarse.

 

I use the RM 510.
It has given me false clearance information only twice.

Today was one. It was trying to route me off a main road onto some side roads, that led me back to that main road about a quarter mile down.
I went straight.
It went nuts telling me of 'low clearance', but there was nothing there.

The other time, can't remember where, I used it to get me to the nearest truck stop after a delivery.
As I was driving along I saw a sign, glanced at it and it said 'Clearance 12' 6"' - maybe a hundred feet before the bridge.
As it was snowing and a bit slick, I slid to a stop. I had been going about 30 in a 55 zone.
About 6 inches of one corner of the trailer went past the lowest (and leading edge of the) girder.
The bridge actually had around 13' 9" of clearance.