What is being done to stop big rigs from repeatedly crashing into a train trestle?

By Orko Manna

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    MARYSVILLE, California (KCRA) — A big rig on Wednesday got stuck under a train trestle in the Marysville area of Yuba County, but it is not the first time this has happened here, which begs the question: What is being done to stop it from happening again?

Caltrans said a semi-truck crashed into the Union Pacific Railroad trestle above Highway 70 near 18th Street, blocking traffic in both directions for hours. Union Pacific sent crews to inspect the trestle, which is basically a bridge for the train. Caltrans removed the big rig and traffic eventually resumed.

But this is not the first time something like this has happened. Similar crashes where big rigs got stuck under the trestle happened multiple times in recent years, including in April 2014 and March 2016. Caltrans spokesperson Gilbert Mohtes-Chan said crashes happen about two to three times a year.

“Historically over the years, we’ve had a number of trucks that have struck it,” Mohtes-Chan said. “The big rig, obviously, the trailer that it was towing was higher than what we call the vertical clearance. It’s a fairly low clearance level than normal bridges, and we do have warning signs for truckers. Sometimes, they miscalculate the height of the trucks, and basically, it’s too large to fit through the top.”

Signs from one side of the trestle show the clearance is 14 feet and 1 inch high, and signs from the other direction show it is 13 feet and 10 inches high. In comparison, Mohtes-Chan said the standard clearance is around 15 feet.

Even with signs on both sides warning truck drivers of the low clearance, it is clear those signs do not always work. Caltrans said they have developed a project to replace the railroad trestle. They also plan to replace the trestle at Binney Junction, which sits at 14 feet and 8 inches in height. While the project is in the works, there is still a lot of time before construction can begin.

“That’s coming down the pipeline in a few years. We’ll actually replace [the trestles]. We’ll build structures adjacent because we can’t close down the railroad line because it’s a major freight line, so we’ll be building that concurrently, adjacent to that new structure as the railroad travels through the area,” Mohtes-Chan said. “We will be adding two lanes in each direction, and so it’ll be wider, and a modern structure that also meets the vertical clearance so trucks can pass under it without crashing into the railroad trestle.”

Mohtes-Chan said Caltrans has already started some of the preliminary work, including pumping water out from underground streams to prevent flooding on the roadways. He said the next step will be to relocate sewer lines. Then, in a few years, major construction on the additional passing lanes and the replacement of the two railroad trestles will begin.

“We want to kind of start moving on this and get this done,” Mohtes-Chan said.

William Davis, who owns the nearby D&D Motorsports just south of the trestle near 18th Street, said he hopes the changes make a difference.

He said the sights and sounds of big rigs crashing into the trestle have become normal.

“It’s probably a weekly occurrence that somebody hits it or gets stuck,” Davis said. “I hear it all the time. It’s usually a loud boom, and so we know when we hear that because it echoes. You know somebody’s hit it, and today was really loud and he got stuck in it pretty good.”

Davis also said the traffic backups from closures caused by big rigs getting stuck under the trestle are a nightmare.

While there is no official timeline right now, Caltrans said it hopes to possibly start construction on the replacement train trestles in 2025.

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