Trucks vs. Bridges

Trucks get jammed underneath the railway viaducts in downtown Spokane more than you would think. The Stevens viaduct has the most collisions.

Section:Gallery

Sun., April 8, 2018

The top is ripped off a tractor-trailer rig by the Stevens Street railroad viaduct Tuesday, March 13, 2018 in downtown Spokane. The Stevens Street underpass is only 11' 6" where most underpasses are 12 or more feet in clearance.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
A Knight Transportation truck is wedged under the railroad overpass on Stevens between First and Second avenues, Friday afternoon, Jan. 20, 2017, in downtown Spokane, Wash.

Dan Pelle The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
A Waste Management truck struck a rail bridge near Second Avenue and Stevens Street in downtown Spokane on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2016. Police said the driver wasn't paying attention to a posted height limit. The BNSF Railway Co., which owns the bridge, is largely responsible for ensuring its structural integrity.

Chad Sokol The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
After a semi-truck got stuck under the Stevens Street railroad overpass, Spokane Fire Department hazmat team unloads paint and paint thinner from the damaged trailer. The crash happened around 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning. Stevens Street was closed from Second Avenue to Sprague for clean-up.

Colin Mulvany The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
Don Head of Rouse Hauling looks at his options for trying to pull this trailer of sawdust out from under the Stevens Street underpass. The semi tractor and trailer were headed south out of downtown early Sept. 24, 2004, when stoppable force met immovable object.

File Sr
1997 - Dale Power of Western Rebar walks back to the cab of his truck after smashing into the skywalk at the Ridpath Hotel Thursday afternoon. Power had made a delivery to the Steam Plant site and neglected to drop the boom back down before heading east on First. The skywalk abruptly reminded him of the error.

File Sr
1991 - Charlie Pierce, left, ropes off part of the sidewalk between Main and Riverside after an Atlas Van Lines truck got stuck under a downtown Spokane skywalk Thursday. No one was injured but the skywalk was damaged.

File Spokesman Review
1991 - Larry Soehren shows repairmen damage done to the skywalk across Howard Street after a truck hit it. The damage was purely cosmetic.

File Spokesman Review
1995 - A refrigerator truck got stuck under the Ridpath sign at the railroad bridge over Stevens in downtown Spokane . The trailer had to be pulled apart in order to free the semi from the bridge.

File Sr
1988 - URM food service driver Duane Carison found himself in a tight quarters beneath a railroad bridge on Stevens between First and Second. After deflating the tires, the driver and his truck made a quick getaway.

Dan Pelle The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
1988 - Another truck is crunched by the Stevens Street viaduct.

File Sr
1988 - Spokane Diesel mechanic Jerome Green thought he had enough room to clear the Stevens Street bridge, but the truck proved to be a few inches too tall. The bridge suffered minor damage; the truck, a crunched top.

Colin Mulvany The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
1988 - A sign from above: Workmen remove a low-clearance sign from the Burlington Northern railroad overpass on Stevens Street south of First Avenue after Jerome Green, a mechanic for Spokane Diesel, wedged his truck beneath the warning. Green was able to back the vehicle out of the tight spot when the sign was taken down. The bridge ceiling, the truck, and the sign all sustained some damage.

Colin Mulvany The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo