Independence Avenue ‘truck-eating’ bridge in Kansas City snacks on another victim
The Independence Avenue “truck-eating” bridge snacked on yet another another victim Wednesday, photos on the bridge’s Facebook page showed.
The low-clearance railroad bridge in Kansas City’s Historic Northeast is notorious for being struck by trucks that are too tall to fit underneath — so much so it has dedicated social media accounts, including the Independence Avenue Truck Eating Bridge KCMO on Facebook.
Photos show that a truck hit the bridge around 10 a.m. Wednesday. The photos show a truck hauling a container tipped to one side after striking the bridge.
Since 2020, as many as 40 trucks have smacked into the bridge, police said. The bridge, owned by the Kansas City Terminal Railway Company, is located between Wilson and White avenues. More than 7,000 vehicles a day travel in each direction on that stretch of Independence Avenue, including buses, trucks and semitrucks, according to traffic volume maps from the Missouri Department of Transportation.
In August, the Northeast Chamber of Commerce commissioned four murals to be painted by five artists on the corners of the 122-year-old bridge.
ReBuild KC, a city program, awarded the Northeast Chamber of Commerce a $17,000 grant for a blight remediation project, which was used to fund the murals.
The aim of the murals was to discourage graffiti and draw attention to the bridge’s low clearance.
Earlier this year, the city installed plastic chimes to warn drivers of the 12-foot clearance. Less than a week later, a truck that was too tall knocked down one of the safety devices.
This story was originally published November 14, 2024 at 2:53 PM.
