Comments on: First & Washington

By: Rod Johnson

Rod Johnson — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:05:04 +0000

Crashing into that bridge is Ann Arbor rock and roll tradition.

By: Marvin Face

Marvin Face — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 18:09:45 +0000

Two weeks ago, walking back from the Y, I saw another truck (Ryder rental truck) hit the bridge. After hitting the bridge, he backed up into the parking lot behind Health Media, tore half the street tree apart in the process, and headed east on Washington.

I was struck most by how flimsy those panel trucks are. It was just destoyed.

By: Matt Hampel

Matt Hampel — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 15:15:12 +0000

Could use the standard parking garage solution: hang a horizontal pole at the bridge clearance height several meters before the bridge; driver gets a tap on the roof as a warning instead of a slice off.

By: George Hammond

George Hammond — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 03:20:57 +0000

It would help if the warning and height signs on the bridge weren’t encrusted with grafitti and stupid stickers. Why can’t those jerks leave the traffic signs alone?

By: bear

bear — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 22:50:12 +0000

There is always a truck sent out with a crew to check out the bridge after collisions. Saw one with it’s yellow lights flashing as I passed the intersection on my way home. I was just thinking, at the time, that it had been awhile since a truck had collided with the bridge, then we turned left and lo & behold, a truck with a crumpled cargo box. LOL! Happens all the time. They should erect a bar on chains that would say if you hit this bar, you ain’t fittin’ under the bridge! Gotta be some way of idiot-proofing that spot!

By: anna ercoli schnitzer

anna ercoli schnitzer — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:14:18 +0000

The (rhetorical) question that comes to my mind is that with all these trucks over the years hitting that same railroad trestle on West Washington, how often do the railroad people check to make sure the trestle is safe? After all, there are often daily trains going over it, sometimes with THREE engines at a time pulling long lines of cars filled with grain, among other heavy loads. And the trestle certainly doesn’t LOOK as if it is very safe or well cared for, nor do the grounds alongside it, which to the north appear to be eroding.

By: Tom Brandt

Tom Brandt — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 16:59:15 +0000

I meant to say “My previous office … “.

By: Tom Brandt

Tom Brandt — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 16:35:59 +0000

My previous was just east of the bridge where Health Media is now, and had a ringside seat whenever this happened. The sound of a truck hitting the bridge is distinctive. Here is a set of photos I took over the course of a couple of years: [link]