THE CAN OPENER BRIDGE

This is the famous 11 foot 8 inch can opener bridge. This bridge has become famous due to all media coverage it gets from all the truck accidents it creates, it’s so famous it even has it’s own Youtube channel that has been running for nearly 10 years.

The bridge used to be known as the Norfolk Southern–Gregson Street Overpass, it has been renamed to the 11 foot 8 Bridge, but most know it by it’s nickname “the can opener”.

Jürgen Henn installed a home security system in his home and used a webcam to start recording the crashes, since he started he has recorded 129 crashes in just under 10 years, as of Feb 2018.

The bridge was made in 1940 and since then Trucks, Buses & RV’s have been getting bigger & bigger to the point where most cannot fit under this bridge anymore.

Thanks for watching.

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[WonderWorldYTC]

★★★ *FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE VIDEO / FACT UPDATES* ★★★

*1) North Carolina Law requires a height clearance of 13'6"* - However, this bridge is NOT in violation because it was built prior to the current height standard. At the time of Its construction, it met all applicable criteria. The current standard cannot be applied retroactively, and re-building the bridge would be too costly. Lowering the road is also not an option due to a sewer line under it. Also, even if the road could be lowered, in time it would become flooded and impassable in heavy rains.

*2) Why not just lower the road* - The reason the road cannot be lowered is because there are sewer lines and water pipes below the roads surface, and the council could not lower the roads surface any further. Also if they wanted move the pipes, it would cost millions of dollars and will cause important utilities to be shut down for weeks or even months. So it’s not practical.

*3) Why not lower the bridge, to make it obvious a truck won't fit through* - For the same reason they have never raised the bridge, because the railroad company does not have to, they are legally within their rights not to raise or lower the bridge.

*4) Why not just close the road, so no one can go through* - Well maybe because most small trucks, buses & RV’s still do fit under the bridge, that the council did not want to interfere with re-routing all that traffic, just because 1 truck a month does not pay attention to warning signs, and crashes into the guard rail.

*5) Why not just ban trucks past a certain height from using that bridge* - Ok seems like a good idea, how will you inform all the random trucks using that bridge of that ban, will you use a sign stating the ban? I assume you will put that sign near the bridge somewhere, maybe right next to the BIG FLASHING SIGN saying "OVERHEIGHT MUST TURN" because obviously the truck drivers are reading all the signs at the bridge, right?

*6) What happens to all the metal parts that break off the trucks* - Jürgen Henn, the owner of the youtube channel Yovo68, picks up pieces of metal from Truck Accidents and sells them on his website, along with T-Shirts, now this man is an entrepreneur.

*UPDATE 28.10.19:* They have finally raised the bridge, the bridge has now been raised 8 inches. So now it is 12 feet 4 inches (12' 4"), but trucks still hit it.

[nazfrde]

The bridge has now been raised, by the way, but only by 8 inches, so it's still way lower than most overpasses, at 12' 4". It only took 22 days after re-opening to open another can.

[Miner-]

Lmao....It’s listed as a tourist attraction on trip advisor. 😂👍

[Shango]

The truck rental places in the area should play this YT video on a monitor in their customer area on endless repeat.

[tonyv]

There is a railroad trestle (bridge) in my town that is 11' 4" that does the same thing. I hear on the scanner all the time of large vehicles getting ripped and stuck frequently. There was once a newer type of refuse service truck that hit the bridge, did over $10, 000 damage to the truck. The bridge, just some scraped off paint. Thanks for the video.

[stevehillier]

The dude who welded that crash bar needs a medal

[killman]

And now despite having raised the bridge 8 inches it is still the can opener. Most recent crash is today October 2nd 2020.

[lynderherberts]

My 88 year old mother went with me to the hospital where I was lined up for a bunch of tests. To give her something to do, when I was finally called, I put the 11ft8 videos on my phone. When I came back, she was sitting there grinning, stll thoroughly entertained by the accidents.

[mman]

i love when they get peeled cleanly, it's so satisfying

[peefoe]

The overhead bar is some sort of indestructible metal alloy kudos to whoever discovered it.

[triciaa.]

I live 20 minutes from this bridge. I used to work about 50 feet from it! Can't count how many times I had to change my route home pulling out of the parking lot because there was a truck stuck under the bridge.

[PeteJab]

I wish they install a camera at the other end to catch the drivers reaction.

[Blue-jyrf]

don't know why i find the cheery music over the muffled sound of carnage really funny.

local truck driver out of central NC. I pass by this bridge all the time....you can't miss the obvious signs and clear detours for oversized trucks long before you approach this and other low bridges in Durham, NC. Often a lot of these accidents are boxtrucks who are not required to have CDL's, therefore, are not familiar with paying attention to signs and knowing what the height of their truck is.

[mewyattt]

Plot twist- the guy that installed the cameras for his YouTube channel also owns the railroad, the tow company and the body shops in town.

[wavion]

I love the guy who stopped, opened the door, considered, and then said, f*ck it let's do this.

[Darkk]

Every large rental trucks have big bright numbers printed next to the driver's side door to remind you the truck's height. It's really hard to miss it. Plus it's printed right on the dashboard.

[josephw]

People say "oh well they're rental trucks they've never driven a truck before" well boy if I was driving a truck for the first time let me tell you I'd be paying a WHOLE hell of a lot more attention than these guys.

[tomwells]

Seems like the trick to getting all the way through is to have enough momentum and keep your foot on the gas.

[frogstomp]

90% of these trucks are rental trucks, likely driven by people who have no trucking experience, and they're just renting it for whatever reason.

Also interesting to note that what the trucks are hitting is not the bridge itself, but a large beam erected in front of the bridge to protect it.