HARRISBURG, Pa. — Twelve-and-a-half feet. That's all drivers get to go under the train bridge over North Front Street in Harrisburg.
Vehicles that sit higher than that not only won't fit; signs tell drivers they aren't supposed to drive down that way.
For years it's been a headache for not only emergency responders, but drivers and construction crews across Harrisburg. The city installed signs in the last year hoping to put the brakes on the problem.
THE QUESTION
Are these signs actually stopping trucks from getting stuck?
OUR SOURCES
City of Harrisburg Communication Director Matt Maisel
City of Harrisburg Engineering Department Senior Project Manager Percy Bullock
WHAT WE FOUND
Maisel provided data on the number of incidents where a vehicle got stuck.
A month before signs were put in, the city had 15 incidents. The number rose and fell throughout the remainder of 2022
Harrisburg Project Manager Percy Bullock says they've seen improvement this year.
"There's been a reduction of trucks coming in," Bullock said. "It's been a reduction of police activity having to come out and save a truck, stop traffic, and divert the truck off the main drag here."
City data backs that statement. In the first three months of 2023, 16 trucks have gotten stuck. It's a noticeable decrease.
"We want to keep it like that," Bullock said. "We want our police officers and other construction workers doing things for the city. Not for [stuck] truck drivers."
So yes, less trucks are getting stuck since the signs have gone up.
Bullock says they will monitor the underpass through the spring and summer, and respond if need be.
"If it happens to pick up and get worse, now that summer is here, we may move to possibly digital signs, we may move to possibly overhead signs, have them further down the road," Bullock said.