Sticky trucks

[BusyBee]

I remember some years ago before they dualled the A46 between Newark and the dualled bit toward Leicester. About a quarter of a mile from Bingham roundabout (where the A52 crosses between Grantham and Nottingham) toward Newark there was a low railway bridge. I remember coming from Newark direction one day, and just after the bridge there was a large articulated lorry reversing back toward the roundabout. He had realised before hitting the bridge, but was creating havoc on the busy road by reversing, but there was no way an artic could readily turn round at that spot. I think the alternate route was through Bingham, but not something I needed to think about.

Tracy

[Refugee]

Our local bridge is the same.
There is two signs at the start of the approach and the chains are about 200 yards in and the bridge is a further 200 yards from them.
They have to back up 200 yards after the chains have knocked on the roof and woken the driver up however if that carry on to see if there is a turning spot it is 400 yards.
They have tried to turn in domestic driveways but the gate posts soon got an upgrade once the owners got fed up with fixing them.
I can remember one day several years ago seeing a driver with his truck drawn all the way up to the bridge. The driver was standing in the road looking up at the top of his truck to see if there was any way he could shoehorn it under.
He backed up in the end.
The chains do keep the day-glow stripes nice and clean.

[boater sam]

Happens almost weekly at our canal bridge despite 6 signs starting a mile away either side, a light up "turn Back" sign and painted warnings on the road.
Usually foreign trucks using GPS.
Many have hit the bridge.
Can take a considerable time for them to back up, causing huge jams.

[Refugee]

Here it is mostly drivers that skimp and buy a passenger car sat nav.
Truck sat navs have all the bridge heights programmed into them so there is no excuse.
They just have to put up with the backing up and the telling off from there bosses especially if they hit the bridge.

[Terry]

Happens almost weekly at our canal bridge despite 6 signs starting a mile away either side ...

A mile away - is that all? The first sign that I know of warning of the 13' 0" restriction at the northbound Blackwall Tunnel is on the vehicle exit from the Eastern Docks at Dover!

There are, of course, more signs as you approach London and on the tunnel approach road itself there are signs at fairly short intervals. Height detectors at the point of no return trip illuminated OVER-HEIGHT VEHICLE DIVERT signs with an arrow pointing to the exit, but even that wasn't enough so, a few years ago, a steeply inclined escape ramp was built on the left immediately before the tunnel entrance. An overheight vehicle automatically turn traffic lights to red, stopping all traffic while PA speakers in the walls of the approach allow the police to order the driver of the vehicle to take the exit ramp and await his fate at the top. This arrangement has virtually eliminated the lengthy delays that used to occur whilst vehicles were reversed back up to surface level.

As for chains, at Blackwall they support pipes, which are much more effective! In fact, I notice here that since the last time I went this way that all the pipes are now bonded together, so hit one and you get the full force of all of them!

You will also notice that there is a 9' 0" restriction in the outside lane ...

Before these pipes were beefed up, there used to be some more pipes further on and I remember one Friday before a Bank holiday when the lights turned red just before the tunnel. There was a loud jangling noise and everything came to standstill.

A van with a high body had hit the pipes in the outside lane. The PA sprang into life, apologising for the delay caused by the driver of a vehicle in lane 2 not knowing the height of his vehicle. He would be allowed top proceed on this occasion, provided he moved his vehicle over to lane 1 and, over the weekend, he might like to ponder on how he was going to explain the damage to his rental vehicle when he returned it to its owners!

[boater sam]

We are more short sighted up north lad.
Pipes on chains? Whatever next.
Its 11' 6", solid stone canal aqueduct. No one has so far managed to move it.
Sam

[Refugee]

Several years ago I spotted 40 foot flat bed that had stopped after the chains with two RSJ frames on it.
If that had hit the bridge it would have moved it as the load was tough enough to cut into the bridge.
The chains had done there job.