COLUMBIA, Tenn. (WKRN) — A box truck hits a low-clearance bridge on Carters Creek Pike Tuesday morning — and it was caught on camera. News 2 spoke with multiple Maury County drivers who said that this is not an unfamiliar situation.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) said that, as a result, they're installing more technology to better warn drivers about the Can Opener. The Can Opener is a small railroad bridge along Carters Creek Pike with its own Facebook page.
"This bridge has a reputation," driver Sunny Rosanbalm said. "It definitely has a reputation that goes far and wide."
Rosanbalm said that the Can Opener got that well-known reputation because of situations like Tuesday morning's.
"I started flashing my lights at him to try to get his attention — get him to stop," Rosanbalm said. "I had my camera and I put my camera up there and I thought, 'Okay, here we go!'"
The clearance under the bridge is only ten feet and ten inches tall. The driver wasn't hurt when the truck crashed into it.
"You will see trucks hit the bridge full-speed," driver Roger Northrup told News 2. "That's why it's called the can opener — because it will peel back the roof like you're doing one of the oyster cans. That's what it does."
There are multiple warning signs at the entrance of Carters Creek Pike. Nevertheless, Northrup said that the bridge claims multiple trucks over the course of a year.
"There's probably at least a couple dozen incidents where the bridge is hit every year," Northrup added.
TDOT said that the agency would install a system to measure vehicle clearance on both sides of the bridge. They said that because of the installation, drivers could potentially expect some delays in the area.
"Trucks just do not have any reason to be going down Carters Creek Pike anyway," Rosanbalm said. "It's narrow. There are too many other, alternative routes."