Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge
The Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge is a truss bridge just outside the Syracuse, New York city limits that carries the St. Lawrence Subdivision railway freight line owned by CSX Transportation over a segment of New York State Route 370, known as the Onondaga Lake Parkway. The bridge has become infamous for a large number of commercial vehicles colliding with its deck, which rises just 10 feet 9 inches (3.28 m) above grade, while driving down this stretch of NY-370.
Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge | |
|---|---|
 View of the bridge in April 2023 | |
| Coordinates | 43°5′25.88″N 76°11′36.86″W |
| Carries | St. Lawrence Subdivision |
| Crosses |  NY 370 |
| Locale | Salina, New York, U.S. |
| Official name | Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge |
| Other name(s) |
|
| Owner | CSX Transportation |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Truss Bridge |
| Material | Wrought Iron |
| No. of spans | 1 |
| Clearance below | 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) (as of April 2023) |
| History | |
| Opened | 1871 |
| Location | |
History
Constructed in 1871 from wrought iron with "substantial stone abutments," the bridge originally carried the rail line over what was then the Oswego Canal, with the first train traversing and testing the bridge on November 6 of that year. It was designed to sustain a distributed load of 230 tons and three tons in compression. A Syracuse Daily Journal reporter remarked upon its opening that the bridge was a "beautiful, substantial, and permanent one; and what every railroad bridge should be." By the early 1900s, the canal was filled in at that point and boats instead took Onondaga Lake to connect to the enlarged and modernized Erie and Oswego canals. The roadway that would later become NY routes 20, 57, and finally 370 was constructed on the former canal bed as a scenic route along the newly established Onondaga Lake Park.[1]
Collisions
By the 1950s, the first reported collisions of commercial vehicles into the bridge's 10-foot-9-inch deck occurred in spite of a long-standing commercial vehicle ban, as the Onondaga Lake Parkway gradually turned from a leisurely route into a major thoroughfare route between Liverpool and Syracuse.[1] This remains a common occurrence to this day, with the New York State Department of Transportation revealing that between 2020 and 2022, an average of just over 9 vehicles per year have struck the bridge,[2] up from a normal average of 3 collisions per year.[3] In March 2023, three trucks hit the bridge within a span of 12 days, including two within the last three days of the month.[4][5]
Commercial vehicles often rise 13-14 feet above the roadway, taller than the deck of the bridge.[3] In addition, Onondaga County and state officials have cited commercial drivers using non-commercial GPS applications such as Google Maps and Apple Maps, which often route tuckers along the parkway and into the bridge.[6] Concerns have been raised about the structural integrity of the bridge after several collisions, but the bridge has remained stable and in good condition as its wrought iron structure was "remarkably well-constructed". In 1996, Department of Transportation official Ray McDougall quipped that the bridge has "won every one" in regard to withstanding numerous collisions over the years.[1]
Despite the NYSDOT spending significant funds on countermeasures and warning signage, including up to $30 million between 2020 and early 2023,[2] trucks have continued to crash into the bridge on a regular basis, often times driven by drivers from outside the area, and the recurring collisions into the bridge have inspired internet humor in the Syracuse area.[7][8]
While many of the crashes have simply been nuisances to the public resulting in few to no injuries,[7] with semi-trailer trucks scraping the bridge or breaking open and spilling their contents after hitting the bridge, a fatal accident occurred in 2010 when a Megabus double-decker bus hit the bridge, killing four passengers.[9] A disaster was narrowly averted in 1992 when a 13-foot-tall tractor trailer wedged itself under the bridge while carrying 40,000 pounds of corrosive powder.[1]
Timeline of bridge strikes
July, 19, 1960 (“damages” $14,000)
January, 17, 1992 Corrosive powder
1992 Beer kegs
1995 Toby Shelley Pudding truck stuck
In 1996, Department of Transportation official Ray McDougall estimated trucks had struck the bridge 50 times in 50 years
October, 19, 2006
November, 24th, 2006
January, 26th, 2007
February, 22nd, 2007
September, 1st, 2007
December, 3rd, 2007
March, 3rd, 2008 (my birthday)
June, 24th, 2008
July, 18th, 2008
September, 18th, 2008
October, 11th, 2008
February, 5th, 2010
January, 5th, 2010
May, 13th, 2010
January, 29th, 2011
September , 11th, 2010 Megabus (Four dead, 20 injured)
NYSDOT installed an over-height vehicle detection system in the fall of 2011 in an attempt to more effectively enforce the commercial vehicle ban on the parkway and warn truckers to turn around.
Since 2012, the NYS Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) said that trucks have struck the bridge 49 times
December, 30th, 2013
March, 4th, 2014 Tractor trailer
2016 Permanent warning system proposed never installed JM/RM
January, 7th, 2016 (ticket failure to obey)
September, 2nd, 2016
September, 28th, 2016
2017
January, 19th, 2017
May, 5th, 2017
June, 24th, 2017 (RV) (two tickets, Failure to obey, leaving the scene)
July, 13th, 2017
October, 11th, 2017 TT
2018
January, 19th, 2018
October, 22nd, 2018
November, 27th, 2018
2019
January, 2nd, 2019
February, 22nd, 2019
June, 26th, 2019
October, 21st, 2019
December, 16th, 2019
2020 (9) $5000 fine proposed (cuomo)
January, 22nd, 2020
July, 3rd, 2020
August, 7th, 2020
October, 9th, 2020 (Failure to obey traffic control device)
October, 22nd, 2020
November, 2nd, 2020
December, 30, 2020
2021 (11)
May, 2nd, 2021
May, 27th, 2021
June, 1st, 2021
July, 6th, 2021
September, 9th, 2021
December, 23rd, 2021 Braden packaging (ST: Worst hes seen wedged)
2022 (8) ACTUAL ( )
2020-2022 average of nine per year – wiki spike from three a year
January, 13th, 2022
January, 22nd, 2022 White box truck
February, 24th, 2022
March, 11th, 2022
March 15th, 2022
April, 5th, 2022 (dump truck)
June, 13th, 2022
October, 31, 2022
August, 8th, 2022 (J.B. hunt) (Two tickets)
November 1st, 2022 (911) (Ticket not following traffic control device)
November, 22nd, 2022
2023
February, 7th, 2023
March, 20th, 2023 (Two tickets)
March, 29th, 2023
March, 31st, 2023 (22 tickets, 11 tickets for the eleven warning signs he missed)
Quote” Tom Newton said the sheriff’s office has begun ticketing people for every sign they ignore before hitting the bridge.” Spokesperson for OC sheriffs office
April, 23rd/24th, 2023 DOT subcontractor CP Ward (lied, didnt get ticketed)
May, 2nd, 2023 (14 tickets) Amazon truck (13 failure to avoid traffic control device)
Efforts to improve the roadway
After the 2010 Megabus crash, the NYSDOT installed an over-height vehicle detection system in the fall of 2011 in an attempt to more effectively enforce the commercial vehicle ban on the parkway and warn truckers to turn around.[10] Truck drivers who ignore the warning signs and subsequently crash into the bridge are now ticketed. A study that was undertaken after the fatal 2010 Megabus crash showed that it was not feasible to raise the bridge or deepen the roadway, as the bridge is also owned by CSX and current geotechnical engineering rules prohibit the roadway from being below the water level of Onondaga Lake.[11][12] CSX has stated that it is open to a project to raise the bridge if the state pays for it.[13]
See also
References
- Croyle, Johnathan (2022-04-14). "The untold history of CNY's notorious Parkway bridge: Why it's so low, so strong and so stubborn". Syracuse.com. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
- "DOT shares exactly how many trucks have hit the bridge over Onondaga Lake Parkway". WSYR. 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- A brief history of Syracuse’s notorious Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge. YouTube (video). Syracuse.com. 2022.
- Buttacavoli, Abbey; Ostrander, Dale (2023-03-29). "Another truck hits Onondaga Lake Parkway bridge, 9 days since last crash". WSTM. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- Misiaszek, Emma (2023-03-31). "For the second time this week, a truck has hit the Onondaga Lake Parkway bridge". WSTM. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- "State DOT blames GPS for OLP bridge hits, suggests additional signage". WSYR. 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
- Phillips, Will (2023-03-29). "3 Vehicles We'd Love to See Hit the Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge". WIBX 950. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- "Another driver ticketed for truck hitting bridge over Onondaga Lake Parkway". WSYR. 2023-02-08. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
- O'Brien, John (July 9, 2013). "Megabus settles lawsuits over crash that killed 4 near Syracuse". The Post-Standard. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- Hall, Sarah (March 10, 2014). "Another truck hits Route 370 bridge". Eagle News Online. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- Onondaga Lake Parkway Traffic Safety Study (PDF) (Report). May 2011. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- "Trucks are still striking Onondaga Lake Parkway bridge despite DOT efforts, recent data shows". Chittenango News. 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
- Kilgannon, Trish (2019-11-04). "How Does the DOT Plan to Make Onondaga Lake Parkway Safer?". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved 2023-04-06.