Comment on The 11foot8 bridge opens another big can
Treczoks@lemmy.world 6 days ago
I had heard they raised it, and I had not heard anything for a long time, so I assumed this was fixed.
So, how high should a standard bridge in the US actually be?
I know that here in Europe the clearence is supposed to be 4.5m (14’8’‘) minimum and 4.7m (15’4’') with new designs.
faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 6 days ago
Part of the problem is that we’ve got a hodgepodge of roads, built at different times, to different standards. Rail crossings are also complicated, because the train companies own the rails and the land under them, so cities are largely unable to force them to make changes to their property.
In this particular instance, the tracks would need to be redone for a few miles on either side of the bridge to raise it, and the North Carolina Train Company just isn’t willing to front the cost and eat the downtime. There’s only so far you can dig down before you hit groundwater problems, so the city can’t do much to lower the road under the bridge.
Longpork3@lemmy.nz 6 days ago
I would solve this problem in the opposite way. Install some much lower barriers(eg 2.5m) which make it painfully apparent that you aren’t going to get anything other than a car under it.
A truck driver isn’t going to keep driving if the barrier is clearly at face height.
NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 5 days ago
I think you’d eventually lose even that bet.
silverchase@sh.itjust.works 5 days ago
The Needles Underpass is 2.4 m high and yet it sure does catch a lot of flies!