It was another case of déjà vu, traffic confusion style, in Canton, Massachusetts, as a familiar spot on Bolivar Street turned into the scene of yet another vehicular entrapment yesterday morning. A truck driver, misjudging the notorious low clearance of the Bolivar Street Bridge, saw his vehicle wedged tightly under the unforgiving structure. This has been a chronic issue, reoccurring with enough frequency to be almost predictable. Canton police confirmed to WHDH that the street had to be closed between Lawrence Street and Waterfall Drive while crews took on the task of dislodging the tractor-trailer.
The mishap occurred around 7:30 a.m., with Canton police reporting on social media promptly at 8 a.m. The images shared gave testimony to the size mismatch as the tractor-trailer stood wedged under the rail bridge. The constricted flow of traffic, a recurring consequence of such incidents, lasted until the authorities reopened the road near 10:45 a.m., the Boston Globe reports.
Though Bostonians might recognize a similar scene on Storrow Drive, conversely, the Bolivar Street Bridge in Canton has secured its own infamy, repeatedly serving as an accidental trap for oversized vehicles. As per Canton police's records, this is not a new challenge—the bridge has been the site of multiple crashes over the years. It's notable that trucks have struck the bridge as recently as Jan. 10, reflecting an ongoing issue that dates back at least a decade, as chronicled in Facebook posts by the police department and as reported by WHDH.
The Canton police, always the digital chroniclers of these events, reflect a sense of weary resignation in their posts. After a similar crash in August, they remarked, "#TheSignsArentLying," a biting allusion to the many notices of the bridge's low clearance. The recent event, which left the truck seriously damaged, caused no surprise on their part—it was simply the bridge "still standing," as starkly put in a statement obtained by WHDH. These run-ins with the bridge, slice deep into the routine of local traffic, yet police humorously note, "We will let you know if the bridge ever gets raised," as mentioned in their July 2021 post. Meanwhile, traffic patterns, and the signposts surrounding them, stubbornly remain the same.
According to the official response, the standard procedure following such crashes entails issuing citations to truck drivers who have not heeded the height warning signs. Despite the repetitiveness of the incidents, and the seemingly blithe tone adopted by the Canton police on social media, consequences for drivers are tangible and punitive. Mending the repetitive cycle with more than just citations, however, might require a structural change—one that the town of Canton, and especially its bridge, stubbornly await.
