BUFFALO, N.Y. - Residents concerned about trucks hitting the rail bridge going over Colvin Avenue in Buffalo asked 2 On Your Side to find out what's being done about it
"Makes me very concerned living here with a small child," Valerie Jonas told 2 On Your Side. "Every time I hear the bridge smashed into."
Jonas lives near the corner of Crescent and Colvin Avenues, just south of the rail bridge owned by CSX.
The bridge is well over a century old, but it's not the rust that's worrying neighbors. It's the trucks and other large vehicles continually running into it.
Just this past Sunday, a rental truck hit the undercarriage of the bridge, which partially ripped off the top of the truck's cargo area.
2 On Your Side went out and measured the bridge. It is 12 feet above the roadway at it's highest point.
But it has arches and the steel girders curve down around the sides of the lanes, which is why the signs warn that the maximum height allowance is nine feet, one inch.
"What we're seeing at specifically Colvin and Linden is some driver inexperience," explained Michael Finn, city of Buffalo engineer and Deputy Commissioner of Public Works. "Where many times it's folks who have rented vans or large moving trucks are not necessarily aware of what their maximum clearance is."
Finn tells 2 On Your Side, CSX is notified anytime the bridge is hit, and they're responsible for inspecting it. CSX then let's the city know if repairs need to be done.
"As long as I've lived in this area, I have never seen any maintenance done to this bridge," Jonas said. "I've lived here my entire life."
2 On Your Side reached out to CSX, but as of Monday evening, we did not get a response to this story.
Besides the integrity of the bridge, there is also concern about the frequency of crashes.
"I think it's a big problem," Jonas said. "At least, I would say, once every two months you hear a large crash, a loud bang noise, look out the window. You almost already know what the sound means."
2 On Your Side reached out to Buffalo Police to find out how many times cars and trucks hit the bridge this year, so far. We're told we should get those numbers by Tuesday morning.
The yellow warning signs alerting drivers about the height clearance are about 200 feet away from the bridge. There's one on Linden Avenue going south and one on Crescent Avenue, on the northbound side.
But if you pass the yellow warning signs on Colvin Avenue, there are no side roads to turn off on after that point. There are no shoulders, but there are some driveways and sidewalks on the south side of the bridge and parking lots on the north side.
Finn says it's the responsibility of the drivers to stop if they realize the bridge is too low.
"We're seen instances where trucks have pulled over where they got to points like that because they missed a sign or didn't understand it," Finn said. "And they've pulled over and in some cases even contacted the police for help."
Considering the number and frequency of crashes, we asked the DPW Deputy Commissioner if the City of Buffalo is considering posting additional warning signs farther away from the bridge on Colvin Avenue, so drivers have a better chance of seeing them.
Finn tells 2 On Your Side the current signs meet proper requirements and no further measures are necessary.