WESTBOROUGH – Traffic was briefly slowed on Friday as police helped divert a truck that nearly struck Westborough’s low train bridge over East Main Street.
A thorn in the side of local police and motorists alike, incidents of trucks striking the bridge have prompted lengthy backups over the years.
With just 12.5 feet of clearance, the bridge is not tall enough to allow common semi-trucks to pass safely underneath.
In this case, a truck approached the bridge and nearly struck it. Observing signage in the area, though, its driver managed to stop.
Police arrived on scene and briefly blocked both lanes of travel to allow the truck to reverse and detour through the Bay State Commons plaza to avoid the bridge.
Then police chief Alan Gordon told the Community Advocate in 2014 that, while actual bridge strikes were a problem, a far more frequent disruption occurred in incidents like the one seen this week, where truckers approach the bridge only to realize that they won’t be able to pass.
The town has taken several steps in recent years in an attempt to alleviate incidents.
These have included installing bilingual signs on approaches to the bridge and a laser warning system that detects when a vehicle is overweight to trigger flashing warning lights.
Crashes and other incidents have continued, though.
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