Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge

The Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge is a truss bridge just outside the Syracuse, New York city limits that carries the St. Lawrence Subdivision railway freight line owned by CSX Transportation over a segment of New York State Route 370, known as the Onondaga Lake Parkway. The bridge has become infamous for a large number of commercial vehicles colliding with its deck, which rises just 10 feet 9 inches (3.28 m) above grade, while driving down this stretch of NY-370.

Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge
View of the bridge in April 2023
Coordinates43°5′25.88″N 76°11′36.86″W
CarriesSt. Lawrence Subdivision
Crosses NY 370
LocaleSalina, New York, U.S.
Official nameOnondaga Lake Parkway Bridge
Other name(s)
  • The "Undefeated Heavyweight Champion of Central New York"
  • The "World Champion" of Bridges
OwnerCSX Transportation
Characteristics
DesignTruss Bridge
MaterialWrought Iron
No. of spans1
Clearance below10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) (as of April 2023)
History
Opened1871 (1871)
Location

History

Constructed in 1871 from wrought iron with "substantial stone abutments," the bridge originally carried the rail line over what was then the Oswego Canal, with the first train traversing and testing the bridge on November 6 of that year. It was designed to sustain a distributed load of 230 tons and three tons in compression. A Syracuse Daily Journal reporter remarked upon its opening that the bridge was a "beautiful, substantial, and permanent one; and what every railroad bridge should be." By the early 1900s, the canal was filled in at that point and boats instead took Onondaga Lake to connect to the enlarged and modernized Erie and Oswego canals. The roadway that would later become NY routes 20, 57, and finally 370 was constructed on the former canal bed as a scenic route along the newly established Onondaga Lake Park.[1]

Collisions

By the 1950s, the first reported collisions of commercial vehicles into the bridge's 10-foot-9-inch deck occurred in spite of a long-standing commercial vehicle ban, as the Onondaga Lake Parkway gradually turned from a leisurely route into a major thoroughfare route between Liverpool and Syracuse.[1] This remains a common occurrence to this day, with the New York State Department of Transportation revealing that between 2020 and 2022, an average of just over 9 vehicles per year have struck the bridge,[2] up from a normal average of 3 collisions per year.[3] In March 2023, three trucks hit the bridge within a span of 12 days, including two within the last three days of the month.[4][5]

Commercial vehicles often rise 13-14 feet above the roadway, taller than the deck of the bridge.[3] In addition, Onondaga County and state officials have cited commercial drivers using non-commercial GPS applications such as Google Maps and Apple Maps, which often route truckers along the parkway and into the bridge.[6] Despite the NYSDOT spending significant funds on countermeasures and warning signage, including up to $30 million between 2020 and early 2023,[2] trucks have continued to crash into the bridge on a regular basis, often times driven by drivers from outside the area, and the recurring collisions into the bridge have inspired internet humor in the Syracuse area.[7][8]

Concerns have been raised about the structural integrity of the bridge after several collisions, but the bridge has remained stable and in good condition as its wrought iron structure was "remarkably well-constructed". In 1996, Department of Transportation official Ray McDougall quipped that the bridge has "won every one" in regard to withstanding numerous collisions over the years.[1] The bridge has jokingly been referred to as the "undefeated heavyweight champion of Central New York" due to withstanding numerous truck crashes.[3]

While many of the crashes have simply been nuisances to the public resulting in few to no injuries,[7] with semi-trailer trucks scraping the bridge or breaking open and spilling their contents after hitting the bridge, a fatal accident occurred in 2010 when a Megabus double-decker bus hit the bridge, killing four passengers.[9] A disaster was narrowly averted in 1992 when a 13-foot-tall tractor trailer wedged itself under the bridge while carrying 40,000 pounds of corrosive powder.[1]

Efforts to improve the roadway
Electronic road sign next to the bridge on NY-370 warning of its low height

After the 2010 Megabus crash, the NYSDOT installed an over-height vehicle detection system in the fall of 2011 in an attempt to more effectively enforce the commercial vehicle ban on the parkway and warn truckers to turn around.[10] Truck drivers who ignore the warning signs and subsequently crash into the bridge are now ticketed. A study that was undertaken after the fatal 2010 Megabus crash showed that it was not feasible to raise the bridge or deepen the roadway, as the bridge is also owned by CSX and current geotechnical engineering rules prohibit the roadway from being below the water level of Onondaga Lake.[11][12] CSX has stated that it is open to a project to raise the bridge if the state pays for it.[13]

Following several collisions in early 2023, the state has narrowed the parkway under the bridge to 1 lane in both directions in a continued effort to divert trucks. In addition, the exit ramp from Interstate 81 to access the parkway has been closed until further notice.[14]

See also

References
  1. Croyle, Johnathan (2022-04-14). "The untold history of CNY's notorious Parkway bridge: Why it's so low, so strong and so stubborn". Syracuse.com. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  2. "DOT shares exactly how many trucks have hit the bridge over Onondaga Lake Parkway". WSYR. 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  3. A brief history of Syracuse’s notorious Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge. YouTube (video). Syracuse.com. 2022.
  4. Buttacavoli, Abbey; Ostrander, Dale (2023-03-29). "Another truck hits Onondaga Lake Parkway bridge, 9 days since last crash". WSTM. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  5. Misiaszek, Emma (2023-03-31). "For the second time this week, a truck has hit the Onondaga Lake Parkway bridge". WSTM. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  6. "State DOT blames GPS for OLP bridge hits, suggests additional signage". WSYR. 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  7. Phillips, Will (2023-03-29). "3 Vehicles We'd Love to See Hit the Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge". WIBX 950. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  8. "Another driver ticketed for truck hitting bridge over Onondaga Lake Parkway". WSYR. 2023-02-08. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  9. O'Brien, John (July 9, 2013). "Megabus settles lawsuits over crash that killed 4 near Syracuse". The Post-Standard. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  10. Hall, Sarah (March 10, 2014). "Another truck hits Route 370 bridge". Eagle News Online. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  11. Onondaga Lake Parkway Traffic Safety Study (PDF) (Report). May 2011. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  12. "Trucks are still striking Onondaga Lake Parkway bridge despite DOT efforts, recent data shows". Chittenango News. 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  13. Kilgannon, Trish (2019-11-04). "How Does the DOT Plan to Make Onondaga Lake Parkway Safer?". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  14. Doran, Elizabeth (2023-08-29). "Onondaga Lake Parkway cut to two lanes near bridge; so far so good for traffic". syracuse. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
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