11 foot 8 Bridge, Railway overpass in Durham, US
The 11 foot 8 Bridge is a steel beam railway overpass in Durham, North Carolina, carrying a single track over South Gregson Street on two concrete piers. Its deck rests on four U-shaped steel girders, and the structure is about 28 metres (92 feet) long. A crash beam painted in warning colours hangs about three metres before the bridge.
The overpass was built in 1940 and kept its original low clearance for seven decades. In 2019, engineers raised the railroad tracks by 8 inches (20 centimeters) to reduce the frequent collisions with tall vehicles.
Jürgen Henn, an office worker near the bridge, set up two cameras in 2008 and 2009 to film collisions from different angles. He posts numbered clips on 11foot8.com; by July 2024, crash No. 185 had been recorded.
Flashing warning signs and height sensors ahead of the underpass alert drivers of trucks and other tall vehicles about the low clearance. The signals activate when a vehicle exceeds the permitted height and approaches the overpass.
The overpass earned the nickname Can Opener because it tears truck roofs like a can opener when they try to pass underneath. Despite the 8-inch raise in 2019, collisions with especially tall vehicles still happen occasionally.
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