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Getting close only counts in horseshoes - or in creating massive traffic jams on a river road

By adamg on Thu, 06/29/2023 - 9:39am
Backup on Soldiers Field Road

See it larger for full effect. Photo by Ari Ofsevit.

Ari Ofsevit was on hand for an almost-storrowing that turned into a backup of shame on the inbound side of Soldiers Field Road by Cambridge Street in Allston this morning. He reports the effort to get the 18-wheeler off the road led to a more than 15-minute road shutdown that, of course, resulted in a massive backup.

" If only he’d seen the thing now dragging across the top of his truck when he got on in the first place," Ofsevit mused, adding:

Instead of letting a few cars through so the truck can back up they’re trying to have him back through a tight turn and then wind up facing the wrong way.

Motorists are yelling at the staties now. ...

Staties finally figured it out. Spent the last 15 minutes trying to do this.

Neighborhoods: 
Allston
Topics: 
Driving
Free tagging: 
Soldiers Field Road
Storrowed


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Comments

By Ari O on Thu, 06/29/2023 - 10:20am.

And that was once the had backed the guy up to the Doubletree. (I'll show my age if I call it the Guest Quarters Suite Hotel.) Given that traffic at that time was already backed up to the Eliot Bridge, I'd guess that the overall Soldiers Field Road shutdown was more than an hour.

The 15 minutes was the time it took for the Staties to figure out how to actually back the truck out of the roadway. They tried about half a dozen times to have him reverse into the hotel driveway, which wouldn't work geometrically. And even if it did, then the truck would be facing out of the driveway towards SFR, which would mean they would then have to close the ramp again to let him drive backwards towards Cambridge Street. The woman at the front of the ramp queue was pleading with the Staties to let her and some other cars go so the driver could back straight backwards. Eventually they did and he was out in a minute.

Lots of comments from passing bicyclists. I assume the drivers in the queue had some thoughts as well.

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By what what now? on Thu, 06/29/2023 - 10:42am.

made of foam rubber or the like that would hang just where the windshield is on any truck too high to get through that reads, right in the driver's face "LOW BRIDGE AHEAD. TURN OFF HERE!"
Put that sign right before you get to the last chance exit.

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By ScottB on Thu, 06/29/2023 - 11:16am.

So that sign would be demolished in about an hour after getting hit by dozens of vehicles which can still fit under the bridge.

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By anon on Thu, 06/29/2023 - 11:18am.

The fact that the low-clearance signs on Storrow are the same today as 30 years ago is a pretty strong indicator that MDC doesn't care.

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By ScottB on Thu, 06/29/2023 - 2:20pm.

Since that's when it was subsumed by the DCR.

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By SwirlyGrrl on Thu, 06/29/2023 - 8:10pm.

It is the loser drivers blindly following the GPS without noticing that their windshield is getting smacked that are the "modern" problem.

That and the existence of Storrow Drive.

Nothing seems to work - many other places have tried flashing lights, red lights, etc. Stupid drivers will stupid their way into low clearance bridges while drooling on their phones.

https://11foot8.com/

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By jl326 on Thu, 06/29/2023 - 1:43pm.

Hilarious, though not surprising, that the staties couldn't figure this one out.

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By Karl on Thu, 06/29/2023 - 10:24pm.

Soldier Fielded...it wasn't on Storrow Drive.

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