A tractor trailer shows obvious damage Friday after becoming stuck under the railroad trestle just north of the intersection of Bridge and Water streets in Augusta. Photo courtesy of Keith Luke
AUGUSTA — The city’s infamous low-hanging railroad trestle, called the “Can Opener” by some locals, claimed another tractor-trailer victim on Friday.
The trestle just north of the intersection of Bridge and Water streets was struck Friday morning by a tractor-trailer labeled with Prince Freight Lines company branding and driving southbound on Water Street. Prince Freight operates out of Prince Edward Island,
Sgt. Jesse Brann said city police received a call around 8:30 a.m. and police were still on the scene assisting with cleanup around 2 p.m. Brann said a wrecker from Statewide Towing was used to get the truck out from under the trestle.
Brann said there are “signs all over the place” near the trestle, which is labeled “low clearance” at 12 feet, 9 inches, but the operator of the vehicle, which was at least 13 feet, 6 inches tall, must not have seen them before striking it.
“Typically what happens is … (their) GPS brings them that way,” he said. “Truck drivers will realize it’s short and then we have to assist them backing up. (The operator on Friday) just kept going and bam.”
Brann said the truck was extensively damaged, evidence by photos from the scene showing a side panel torn from the trailer and a large kink in the middle of the trailer. Brann said there was no damage done to the trestle.
“That thing is like a rock,” he said.
Brann said the Maine State Police were also on the scene and the driver of the vehicle, whose identity was not known around 3 p.m., was cited for operating a vehicle above height restriction.
Brann said he did not know how many times a year the trestle is hit, but he remembered times where two trucks a day would become stuck behind the trestle and require police assistance in backing up. In 2017, during a period between January 2016 and May 2017, city police responded to 23 complaints at the site, often to assist trucks in backing up or turning around without actually going under the bridge, and three accidents.
The ‘Can Opener’ got its local name after accidents caused the tops of trailers to peel off, like a can’s lid.
A warning system was proposed for the trestle near the intersection of Water and Bond streets in 2017, but Maine Department of Transportation spokesperson Paul Merrill confirmed on Friday that it was never constructed.
“When we put the warning system project out to bid, the bids came back too high, so we did not award the project for construction,” Merrill said. “Given Maine’s other infrastructure needs, we decided not to move forward with this project.”
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