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NY City,Brooklyn Bridge,unusual stuck Semi,trucker hit an SUV then rolled .

Apostolic said:
First this trucker had no business trying to go under a bridge lower than his trailer.
But then hits an SUV which caused him to roll, in turn causing his trailer to get totally jammed under the bridge.
Getting that Semi out of there must have been some project,see for yourself.

Photos: Overturned Truck Crammed Under Bridge Snarls Traffic On BQE: Gothamist
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Apostolic, I know that area well. Yes the bridge is marked 12-2. A 13-6 fits under it easily. It is on 278, the BQE, where the exit is to the Brooklyn Bridge. NY can not mark a bridge the correct height for some reason. My first time in that city was a memorable one.
 
I also know that areapretty well, as i did p&d there. 13'6 will make so i dont know how he caught jammed like that.


and the clearance sign is yellow, not white so its a warning sign. the clearest answer ive gotten regarding marking bridges at least a foot lower, is to account for decrease in clearance when it snows.

Glad i dont work deliveries there as nothing makes you want to crap your pants worse than going to an area for the first time and trying to go under a 12'2 bridge and no where to tun around...ugggh.
 
CC, my first time on the BQE, it started at Atlantic Avenue. There is a sign there that says all vehicles over 12' something must exit. I got off, sat at the bottom of the ramp wondering what to do. I looked up at the BQE and there goes a couple big righted hammer down. I found the ramp to get back on east bound. It puts you on right at the shelf that has Battery Park (I think that's what it is) above the BQE. then I see an 11' 7" sign and all but stop on the road. A big rigger flies by me on the air horn. I was one nervous wreck until I got back to civilization! It got better the next time. Though there is one underpass heading towards 87 that I had problems thinking I would hit. It's marked 12-4 or close but looks like the road is sloping up and making the exit smaller. It's before you need to exit on Astoria as the parkway merges with BQE before the Triboro or the RFK I think it's called today.
 
You are not alone my friend, my first day i had a delivery out in eastern brooklyn and was heading back. I saw the 12'2 sign panicked and got off at atlantic. But then i see trucks hauling on by, took me an hr to get back to maspeth on the local roads..That sign will get a new driver everytime. i see the swifties and the werners come dead stop, with 4 ways on trying to see if they can make it...If im running and i see a new guy, i just give em the thumbs up and tell them, they are good to make it.

And for the RFK, you dont have to exit, ive seen a guy i work with take the car ramp and fly on by under it, plenty of room for a 13'6 trailer. Luckily he didnt get caught as there are cops there most of the time. Know whats funny too, for trucks that exit, if you look at the girders that the train runs on, many a trucks have hit it..Its real tight under there. Tighter than having not exit and just gone straight true.. NYC is an animal for trucks, especially if you dont run there often. I dont miss it one bit.
 
CenturyClass said:
You are not alone my friend, my first day i had a delivery out in eastern brooklyn and was heading back. I saw the 12'2 sign panicked and got off at atlantic. But then i see trucks hauling on by, took me an hr to get back to maspeth on the local roads..That sign will get a new driver everytime. i see the swifties and the werners come dead stop, with 4 ways on trying to see if they can make it...If im running and i see a new guy, i just give em the thumbs up and tell them, they are good to make it.
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It got me the first time, I got off and couldn't find an easy detour back. I do suggest you stay in the outside lane though, there's a little more clearance.

CenturyClass said:
And for the RFK, you dont have to exit, ive seen a guy i work with take the car ramp and fly on by under it, plenty of room for a 13'6 trailer. Luckily he didnt get caught as there are cops there most of the time. Know whats funny too, for trucks that exit, if you look at the girders that the train runs on, many a trucks have hit it..Its real tight under there. Tighter than having not exit and just gone straight true.. NYC is an animal for trucks, especially if you dont run there often. I dont miss it one bit.
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NYC was considering letting trucks travel the parkway for that short distance, but I don't know if they ever changed the law or not. I do know that trucks exiting in Astoria have to go around that train trestle you mention. I learned the hard way when the DOT was ticketing any trucks that didn't. There's a sign there, but it was always too dirty too read.
 
I made a guest appearance in Brooklyn last year. That was a first in 3 years or so. I don't miss it, don't care if I ever go there again. And to think I once had a bid going there 5 nights a week. What was I thinking?
 
I was a P & D driver,in and around a 75 mile radius of Rochester NY for 45 years.
True enough New York State as a rule does mark their bridges a foot lower than the actual height.
There was an old train bridge on Rt.19 South of Leroy NY,that bridge was 12,4,but any 13,6 could sail under empty no problem.
DOT finally dismantled it,that bridge is no longer there.
Whenever I delivered out that way I thought to myself,is all of the rubber was scrapped off the road just before that bridge,from Semi's skidding to a stop.
There could be a full set of tires made out of it.

I think that Container became taller when it rolled up causing it to jam under the bridge.
 
They finally got rid of a problem bridge around here last year. The bridge was at the end of Bates St(885) right before Second Ave. It was 11'10" and flatbeders with flattops went under it to go to Metal Tech on second Ave. Well, all the 13' 6" drivers saw this and at least twice a week some one got stuck trying to get to the other side of the river. Needless to say the bridge came down on a Saturday, road was to be closed at 7pm Friday so the could dismantle the bridge and put the new, 14' bridge up and to reopen Sunday evening. Swift got stuck under the bridge at 5pm Friday. So nice with the bridge gone. Now I can get to my one stop without taking the long way.
 
i recall my first time through that area. I followed a garbage hauler through that area. I figured if he can make it so can I. bridge heights scare me around that area. it looks like he swerved and shifted
 
In NY a YELLOW sign is a warning/suggestion a WHITE sign is a no no,And they measure from the center of the hub not the ground.278 now you have to get off and go around if 3 axles or more,West bound when you exit they "suggest "you take a right off the exit and go around the block and back onto Astoria,coming East bound you'll fit under the pedestrian walkway on Astoria but it's close.
 
Its nothing to see 13 ft bridges on truck routes in NY State.I think they mark them lower for the snowfall in the winter.Sure would make it easy to put the correct clearance on bridges.Yea,it wouldnt matter in some instances but it sure would make it easier for most others.
 
Hmm I am 68, lived in upstate NY my whole life.
Retired after a 45 year city driving career & never knew why the state marked the bridges lower than actual.

However a9faninnc you do have a good point,when it snows,if the plows don't get right to it.
The road surface can have snow build up,which could change the measurement of any given underpass.
 
I go under that bridge every week about 45mph or so with a 13'6" trailer. The truck must have hit the van causing the trailer to tip, and get caught under the bridge. People up there are CrAzy in how they drive. Especially the cabs, they swarm around you like bees from a hive. It's just nuts, even at 5am in the morning.

I delivered last Sunday (Mar 24th) to a business on the south side of Kennedy Airport. There is a gal that works there that was complaining that she got a ticket for going 75 mph in a 55 mph zone on the L.I.E. (I-495) I don't understand how she could have kept the car on the road because the L.I.E. (I-495) is incredibly rough. Her speeding fine was $425 and she was furious that she even got a ticket in the first place.
 
she got a ticket for going slow, as 75 is slow for the LIE. those bastards are insane in their driving. Man i dont miss driving in manhattan at all!
 
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