A truck got stuck under an overpass — or "Storrowed" — overnight on Storrow Drive in Boston.
It happened on the eastbound side of the road in Brighton, which had to closed down for hours Tuesday morning. The tractor trailer was removed by 8:30 a.m., reopening Storrow Drive after many commuters had to be diverted onto Western Avenue throughout the morning.
The tractor-trailer hit a train bridge just prior to the BU Bridge overnight, state police said.
"Storrowing" happens when large trucks drive down the major parkway through Boston, and get caught under one of the low clearance bridges there. It's common during college move-in season, and can cause serious delays in an already congested area of the city.
"I saw the breaking news and I thought to myself, 'One more time,'" Marleen Winer said.
Anytime there is a "Storrowing," Winer is watching. She works for TeleType, a Boston-based company that has created an app for truck drivers that directs them to routes that are truck friendly.
"We have a sophisticated system that we use that essentially maps out all the restricted areas, so anything that has a low bridge, or is weight-restricted," she said. "We just don't let the driver on there, so we reroute around those areas."
"Storrow Drive, for us is something to be avoided at all costs," Chris Amaral, who runs Safe Responsible Movers, said Tuesday. "I am just amazed how often it happens because clearly there is a sign right there, that says 'Cars only.'"
Amaral says his company works with new drivers to educate them about the dangers of driving on roads like Storrow.
"We will share pictures of Storrowing incidents, because it is one thing to tell someone it is bad to crash a truck into a bridge, people get that, but when you see a picture of a truck with its roof peeled off and someone's belongings scattered on the roadside, it makes an impression," he said.
"I am kind of at a loss in this day and age, why trucking companies just haven't implemented it, it is not that difficult," said Winer. "It is a constant issue around here."
