A tractor-trailer got wedged under a bridge near Automobile Alley in Oklahoma City on Monday, its cab too tall to clear the overpass and its trailer damaged in the process. The crash blocked traffic on Northwest 6th Street near Oklahoma Avenue, turning a routine commute into a slow crawl around a red semi that had nowhere left to go.
According to KOCO, the cab of the semi struck the overpass because it was simply too tall to safely make it underneath. The impact caused damage to the trailer, and the whole mess brought traffic on the roadway to a standstill. A KOCO 5 viewer happened to catch the moments right after the cab hit the bridge, giving the station video of the aftermath.
Over-height truck strikes have been documented in research. Research cited by the U.S. Department of Transportation found that New York State alone has seen around 200 such strikes a year from over-height trucks.
Oklahoma's Rules on Truck Height
Oklahoma has clear legal limits meant to prevent exactly this kind of incident. The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority states plainly that it is illegal for trucks taller than 14 feet to travel the state highway system without permits and approved routes.
That agency has dealt with its own high-profile strikes before. In a December 2025 advisory, the authority said an illegally over-height vehicle damaged six county bridges above I-44 and the Will Rogers Turnpike in Rogers County, closing four of them; the bridges involved in that incident ranged from 14 feet 11 inches to 15 feet 4 inches in vertical clearance, well above the legal limit, the authority noted.
A History of Low-Clearance Trouble in OKC
Monday's crash is not the first time a truck has collided with a bridge in the Oklahoma City area. In 2016, part of the May Avenue bridge over the Northwest Expressway was knocked down after a truck struck it, according to KOCO's earlier reporting. City officials later determined that the May Avenue bridge did not meet current height requirements and also needed ADA-accessible sidewalks added.
That realization led to a $13 million project funded partly through a bond passed in 2017 and partly with help from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Construction on that bridge overhaul was expected to begin in March 2026, with drivers potentially using the new structure as early as late 2027, the station reported.
