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Onondaga Bridge Takes Another Hit … But Why? Onondaga Bridge Takes Another Hit ... But Why?

The bridge is 10'9" in height; can we raise or lower it?

By Nicole LaFiandra

Trucks have slammed into the bridge for years.
© 2023 Nicole La Fiandra

ANCHOR: Another truck has hit the Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge, Nicole La Fiandra was on the scene today, and tells us why this keeps happening, Nicole?

Nicole La Fiandra: The Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge has always looked a little mangled because of the trucks that continuously hit it. Yesterday, another one did not see the signs, and attempted to make it under.

Another tractor trailer has hit the Onondaga Parkway Bridge. This is a problem Syracuse natives know well; but why does it keep happening?
The road right under the bridge is the remnant of a canal, with the area above it currently serving as a set of railroad tracks.

Any lower, and the road would be in the water. But any higher, and the railroad tracks would be unable to function properly.

Fiandra: Attempts at making truck drivers use a specialized GPS technology to avoid the bridge have also failed. The majority of the drivers who hit the bridge are new to the area; the drivers who are native to Syracuse avoid it entirely.
Alice Carter lives right by the bridge, and has seen most of the accidents play through.

Alice Carter: They want the railroad company to, you know, make the bridge higher, but I don’t think that would matter. People will slam into the bridge no matter how high it is, if it is not the top of the bridge, it would be the side of the bridge.
Without a solution in sight, it is up to the county to find the key to the issue.

While on the parkway today, I counted fourteen signs, lights and road warnings, and yet, this has happened many times before, sometimes, taking lives with it.

Fiandra: Reporting in Syracuse, I’m Nicole La Fiandra.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News)–Another truck  has hit the Onondaga Parkway Bridge. Looking up at it, it is a tad more mangled than it was before. The accident was not as severe as some of the others in the past, but it leads us to the question: Why does this keep happening?

The parkway bridge is the remnant of a canal and bringing it any lower would make it susceptible to flooding. So, the solution is to raise the bridge overhead, right?  That will not work either; the train tracks that run through there cannot be moved.

Driving on the road underneath, one can count 14 different signs, flashing lights and road paint displays signaling the bridge’s height. Drivers familiar with the Syracuse area tend to avoid the bridge completely, while drivers from other towns tend to slam right into it.

Alice Carter, a neighbor in Syracuse, has seen this accident play out time after time.

“People will slam into the bridge no matter how high it is, if it is not the top of the bridge, it would be the side of the bridge.”

The search for solutions continues.

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