Independence Avenue’s ‘truck-eating’ bridge in Kansas City claims another victim
The bridge along Independence Avenue, notoriously knowns as Kansas City’s “truck-eating” bridge, snacked on another victim Monday morning, according to a police spokesman.
At about 11 a.m., a semi hauling what appears to have been roofing materials struck the low-clearance railroad bridge, said Sgt. Phil DiMartino with the Kansas City Police Department.
The driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries, DiMartino said. The investigation is ongoing, and Independence Avenue is expected to be affected for a couple more hours.
A post on the Kansas City Police Department’s Facebook page shows the mangled roofing crane truck from Cornell Roofing & Sheet Metal, which is located at 901 S. Northern Blvd, less than five miles from the crash. Roofing supplies are spilled across the road.
“After all this, a truck driver has a non-life-threatening injury to his hand,” police said in the post.
The bridge, which is frequently struck by trucks that are too tall to fit underneath the 12-foot clearance, is located between Wilson and White avenues and is owned by the Kansas City Terminal Railway Company.
Dozens of trucks have smacked into the bridge since 2020, occurring so frequently, the bridge has its own dedicated social media accounts, including the Independence Avenue Truck Eating Bridge KCMO on Facebook.
In August 2024, the Northeast Chamber of Commerce commissioned four murals on the corners of the 122-year-old bridge. ReBuild KC, a city program, awarded the chamber 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.
Also in 2024, Kansas City installed plastic chimes to warn drivers of the low-clearance, but at least one of the safety devices was knocked down by a too-tall truck in less than a week.
This story was originally published February 2, 2026 at 1:02 PM.
