Transport trucks striking a CP Rail overpass in Quinte West on 2nd Dug Hill Rd have been an ongoing problem for years.
It happened again on Tuesday afternoon. Even though the city has installed several new warning signs, the collisions continue.
Just before 3:15pm, a transport truck struck the overpass that afternoon, closing the roadway for hours.
There were no injuries, but part of the trailer roof buckled.
It’s not the first time a truck was too big to get through.
“I have been a police officer here in Quinte West for approximately 20 years now,” says Quinte West OPP Const. Derrick Osmond, “and I have responded to several of these incidences.
“It happens year to year.”
And according to the Quinte West OPP, in 2018 alone they responded nine different instances of transport trucks ramming into the CP Rail overpass.
In 2019, OPP have so far responded to six similar collisions and 14 close calls.
The city recognizes tall trucks and tracks don’t mix well on 2nd Dug Hill Road south to Telephone Road.
“The City of Quinte West has had issues with large transport trucks hitting the CP bridge across 2nd Dug Hill Road for many years,” says Chris Angelo, director of public works for the City of Qunite West.
“There are multiple signs warning drivers of the low clearance going up and down the road leading up to the bridge and warning drivers not to turn onto the road in the first place, including three recently installed signs with solar powered flashing lights.”
Some residents in the area even make the point in spray paint. Several messages saying ‘No Trucks’ are painted on the steel girders spanning the bridge.
Angelo says the driver involved in the latest transport crash left a Walmart store and “ignored multiple signs, including a 4’ x 8’ sign warning drivers not to turn left onto the road leading up to the bridge.”
Transport trucks and the trailers have an average clearance height of 4.3 meters.
Signs leading to the overpass clearly state the maximum height is 3.7 meters.
“A lot of these drivers are coming from out of town and they are doing a drop-off at one of the local businesses and they are taking that route as per their GPS, or that is the only route they are familiar with,” says Osmond.
Collisions like this also impact train traffic, as CP safety officials have to inspect the overpass and tracks.
The driver involved in Tuesday’s collision has been charged under the Highway Traffic Act.