Long Grove’s famously unforgiving covered bridge has claimed yet another rental truck, after a U-Haul box truck became wedged under the structure on Tuesday and blocked the one-lane crossing. Officials said the driver was not injured but was cited at the scene, while both the truck and the bridge’s wooden canopy showed visible scraping and will be inspected.
Video published by CBS Chicago shows the box truck jammed beneath the wooden cover that spans Buffalo Creek. According to CBS, local bridge watchers counted this crash as roughly the 73rd strike on the span since 2018.
Lake & McHenry County Scanner reports the oversized U-Haul hit the canopy just before 11:30 a.m. Monday and remained stuck for about an hour while deputies shut down Robert Parker Coffin Road. Tow crews let air out of the truck’s tires so it could be pulled free, and the scene was cleared shortly after.
Village Manager Chris Sparkman told the Daily Herald that the driver kept going after the first impact and was cited, and that engineers will conduct a structural assessment of the bridge. The Daily Herald also noted that a local Facebook tracker posted video of the extraction and that the bridge appeared to have avoided major structural damage in this latest run-in.
Bridge history and protections
The Robert Parker Coffin Bridge - a Pratt pony-truss span built in 1906 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places - was restored and had its wooden canopy reinforced after a previous damaging crash, according to Historic Downtown Long Grove. Village rules bar vehicles taller than eight feet six inches or heavier than five tons from using the crossing, per local ordinance.
Why drivers keep clipping it
Officials and local reporting have long blamed navigation apps and distracted driving for the steady stream of collisions. A Daily Herald review found that Google Maps and similar services sometimes send passenger vehicles over the bridge, and that Long Grove has repeatedly asked mapping companies to steer non-local traffic away from the span. That mix - a straight approach into downtown, a narrow one-lane bridge and persistent GPS quirks - keeps producing viral videos and follow-up inspections.
Legal note
Long Grove’s village code specifically bans vehicles over eight feet six inches in height or weighing more than five tons from using the covered bridge, with the ordinance posted on the village’s website. After the canopy is struck, deputies typically issue citations for disobeying traffic controls and the bridge is inspected following each incident, according to local records.
Crews reopened the roadway once the truck was removed, and downtown merchants expect the now-familiar disruption to be short-lived. “It keeps the town busy,” a shop owner told CBS Chicago, while officials say they will keep pressing mapping companies and weighing additional physical protections in hopes of cutting down on future hits.
