A Warning for College Students Moving to Boston

With move-in day right around the corner, overpasses all over the Boston area need your help. They need to not be hit by a moving truck on Storrow Drive or Soldiers Field in Boston & Memorial Drive in Cambridge. Plan your move in day route accordingly & watch for the signs! pic.twitter.com/Wkfgcg6Nx3
— MassDCR (@MassDCR) August 23, 2023

We've gotten used to the many accidents at the infamous 11 foot 8 bridge in Durham, North Carolina, even after it was raised a few inches. But it's far from the only can opener bridge in the US, and sometimes these accidents are seasonal. Boston is America's biggest college town. Every August, culminating on Labor Day weekend, thousands of new students move into apartments and dormitories, often bringing their stuff in rental trucks that may be taller than they are aware of.

In Boston, many of those trucks find themselves on Storrow Drive, a main thoroughfare that has several low-clearance bridges. Trucks and busses are prohibited on Storrow Drive for just this reason, but people coming in from out-of-town for the first time do not realize that until it's too late. Trucks hitting bridges here is quite common, and this phenomena has led to its own term: Storrowing. Could it be that bad? I searched for "Storrow Drive Bridge" on YouTube and got a long list of incidences.

Storrow Drive is not the only road in Boston that has low bridges. You can see why the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation felt the need to put out public service announcements to warn people traveling to the city. -via Metafilter

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In Sealy, Texas, there was a low bridge that had caused hundreds of similar accidents. First, a warning sign was put up. When that proved to be ineffective, a set of dangling bells was strung across the road (Hwy. 36) at bridge level, with a sign reading 'If you hit bells, you'll hit bridge'. That worked better, but a few horrific accidents still occurred, several of them fatalities. In 2016, the road was closed, there old bridge demolished, and a much higher bridge erected in its place. That seems to have solved the problem.

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The residence hall I lived in had an enclosed passageway to the neighboring hall. Every year during move in week, at least one vehicle would crash into it. One year I was brushing my teeth and felt a thud through the building. A Ryder truck had slammed into the arch, breaking off part of the roof. Checking now with Google Street View, I see they've put in sacrificial barriers since I left.

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