More than 600 Pennsylvania bridges have been hit by tall vehicles in recent years, including at least seven along Interstate 90 in Erie County.
Railroad bridges over Erie streets also have been struck.
A new campaign by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation aims to make drivers aware of low bridges ahead to reduce the number of crashes as well as costly damage and traffic delays.
“Each of these bridge strikes takes funding away from other projects and often involves resources from our emergency response partners,” PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said.
The problem: Low bridges
Vehicles were smaller when many of our bridges were built. Today, some trucks, truck trailers and RVs are too tall to pass under low bridges.
Bridges over I-90 in Erie County were built with the interstate in 1959 and generally are only about 14 feet above the road. The modern standard is two and a half feet higher.
PennDOT has been removing the old bridges and replacing them with spans with additional clearance as it reconstructs the interstate in western Erie County. But a number of the old bridges were hit before they could be replaced.
The Beckman Road bridge over I-90 in Girard Township has been closed since it was hit by an oversized vehicle on Feb. 14. It will be demolished this summer but won’t be replaced until 2028.
The latest casualty: Another bridge over I-90 will be demolished. And, yes, it was struck by a large vehicle
The Route 18 bridge in Girard Township was demolished and rebuilt after it was hit twice in one week in 2021. The worst damage was inflicted by a boom truck with a hydraulic-lift bucket that cracked and bent a bridge beam.
The Route 215 bridge in Springfield Township was struck, demolished and rebuilt earlier that same year.
A tractor-trailer carrying a forest harvester hit the Route 98 bridge over the interstate in Fairview Township in 2013. The bridge was repaired and later was demolished and replaced as previously planned.
Another Fairview bridge over the highway, on Platz Road, was demolished but not replaced after it was struck by an oversized vehicle in 2011.
I-90 bridges: Why bridges are getting hit in western Erie County but not on the east side of county
And a single logging truck hit two Springfield bridges over the interstate in 2014. Both had only minor damage and remained open. The Pond Road bridge was demolished but not replaced in 2018 after an inspection showed much more significant damage. The Huntley Road bridge was demolished and replaced a year later as part of the interstate reconstruction.
In Erie, some railroad bridges are even lower than the interstate bridges. The West 14th Street bridge is just 12 feet, 4 inches, over Liberty Street, where it was hit four times in six weeks in 2012.
‘Check Your Height, Know it’s Right’
PennDOT’s new “Check Your Height, Know it’s Right” campaign encourages drivers to know the height of their vehicles, watch for “low clearance” signs for bridges ahead, and change their routes if necessary.
All bridges in the state with a vertical clearance less than 14 feet, 6 inches, are marked with low-clearance signs, both at the bridge and in advance of the structure.
“If you are driving a commercial vehicle, a delivery or moving truck, or an RV, do not rely on your navigation app. Check the height of your vehicle and know it’s right,” Carroll said.
The “Check Your Height, Know it’s Right” campaign — offered in partnership with the Eastern Transportation Coalition — also reminds truck drivers to lower truck beds and check the height of equipment they’re hauling. Pennsylvania requires a special hauling permit for vehicles and loads taller than 13 feet, 6 inches. Drivers enter vehicle height and weight into an automated system that approves or denies access to certain roads and provides alternate routes if necessary to avoid low bridges.
Non-commercial drivers also need to be aware of vehicle and bridge heights, Carroll said, especially when renting a truck or driving a large RV. Drivers can use the state’s 511PA system to check their route for low-clearance bridges using the “low bridge” map layer. The feature indicates low bridges with an icon that drivers can click for more information.
Building I-90: It ‘dwarfs anything Erie County has ever seen’
The 511PA mobile app provides more detailed information for drivers of commercial vehicles. The app provides vehicle restriction information and low-bridge data by default and sounds audio alerts along drivers’ routes.
Whittling the numbers
The 600-plus bridges struck by vehicles in Pennsylvania in recent years include state-, county-, local- and railroad-owned spans hit between 2013 and 2023.
PennDOT is continuing to replace low bridges to lower the likelihood of more vehicle hits. In the past decade, more than 160 bridges statewide with clearances of less than 16 feet, 4 inches, have been replaced with bridges at least three feet higher.
Drivers can whittle costs, for insurance, by avoiding low bridges. PennDOT pursues claims against drivers that strike bridges when the vehicles and drivers can be identified.
Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Low bridge ahead. PennDOT urges drivers to steer clear when necessary