New York State Thruway Collision Concerns Lead To Crackdown
Joint efforts between the New York State Thruway and police landed 7,301 citations for truckers to reduce the number of bridge-hit incidents.
A 3-month commercial vehicle inspection in New York ended last December.
Taking place over a 570-mile stretch of New York State Thruway, the goal was to reduce the number of commercial truck collisions while passing under bridges.
Bridge Collision Incidents
From 2020 to 2023, the state saw 207 incidents where trucks failed to pass under bridges successfully. This last year, there were 56 more reports of collisions.
Along with the dangers involved in a motor vehicle accident, these crashes also damage the infrastructure of the bridges. This leads to major delays for motorists and the transport of goods due to the issuing highway maintenance and upkeep it causes to ensure the integrity of the bridge.
In an attempt to bring these numbers down, the New York State Thruway worked with the local police to improve the safety conditions over this stretch of road during the final months of the year. The total number of violations from Q4 hit 7,301, 31 for overweight vehicles. This came as officials inspected 3,767 commercial vehicles, placing 997 of them out of service.
Three different bridges over the last 4 years had incident numbers that stood out among the rest:
- Seneca County: Middle Black Brook Road Bridge over I-90: 31 collisions
- Niagara County: Northbound North Grand Island Bridge over the Niagara Scenic Parkway on I-90: 23 collisions
- Rockland County: South Broadway Bridge over I-87: 14 collisions
Outdated Bridges Along New York State Thruway
There are 817 bridges along the thruway, many of them built in the 1950s.
Unfortunately, the standards of the 50s are not the same ones that we use today. Where bridges used to be required to have a clearance of 14 feet and 2 inches, we now have the standard of 16 feet minimum. While this might lead to an increase in incidents with trucks traveling through this area, it is required by law that truckers know the dimensions of their vehicle and whether or not they can safely pass under bridges.
The Thruway Authority received an increase in its 2025 budget, adding $33 million to its $477.3 million.
A statement from the agency had the following to say:
“The increased investment will lead to work on approximately 61% of the Thruway’s more than 2,800 pavement lane miles as well as the replacement or rehabilitation of 20% of the Thruway’s 817 bridges.”
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