The two “truck eating bridges” in Davenport, Iowa get the best of as many as 14 truck drivers a year, police say.
The two 11 foot 8 inch bridges can be found on Brady Street and Harrison Street, respectively and have already claimed 11 trucks as their victims this year. This week, the Davenport Police released information regarding how often these bridge strikes happen and the numbers may be higher than suspected.
Harrison St.
2015 1 incident
2016 5
2017 7
2018 4
Brady St.
2015 8 incidents
2016 8
2017 7
2018 7
* Harrison Street was closed for a long portion of 2015 due to construction
“[Someone hitting the bridge is] guaranteed. It’s like, the sun is going to come up in the East tomorrow, it’ll happen, it’s just a matter of when,” says Lt. Shawn Voigts of the Davenport Police.
The bridges each boast signs stating the clearance and city and state officials have even installed extra warning signs, but the accidents just keep happening, reported Our Quad Cities News.
“Refrigerated trucks, tanker trucks– even flatbeds who thought they were fine… I think the city and the state have done as much as we possibly can right now short of having a person standing there 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Voigts said.
“I’ve had drivers that call their company and pretty much the company fires them on the spot. They’re from somewhere else nowhere near here and all of a sudden now they’re in Davenport with no job and no transportation…. The solution is simple: Pay attention to the truck you’re driving and the roads you’re driving on.”