Overpass Struck for 6th Time in Last 2 Months
It is also the fourth time since Aug. 1 that the bridge has been hit.
Chatham Borough police issued a summons for careless driving to a New York state man after his truck became the latest to strike the NJ Transit Overpass on Watchung Avenue.
Police said Robert Briggs, 33, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was traveling west on Watchung Avenue on Wednesday when the tractor trailer he was driving struck the overpass at about 5:30 a.m. Briggs said that he was following his GPS and did not notice the bridge is marked 11 feet, 4 inches while his truck is 12 feet, 10 inches, according to police.
This was the fourth time since the beginning of the month that a vehicle has struck the overpass, according to police reports. It was struck on Aug. 7, and twice more before that in the first week of the month. It was also struck twice more within this two-month span that has now seen it hit six times, once on June 26 and another time on July 7.
Police said they issued the summons and Briggs' truck was towed from the scene.
Editor's Note: This originally appeared in Chatham Patch.
Leslie
11:22 am on Monday, August 27, 2012
Obviously there is a problem with the road configuration. There are lots of truck drivers who notice and need to turn around. Can the road be lowered? Can we install a flashing yellow light, a warning beeper or chains above the roadway? There are ways to prevent these accidents that have been used in other problem spots. Something about the configuration of this street is causing truck drivers not to realize the bridge is too low.