{"id":5299,"date":"2021-04-13T07:43:18","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T07:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=5299"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:52:18","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:52:18","slug":"i-watched-all-162-crashes-at-the-can-opener-heres-what-i-saw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/04\/13\/i-watched-all-162-crashes-at-the-can-opener-heres-what-i-saw\/","title":{"rendered":"I watched all 162 crashes at the Can Opener. Here\u2019s what I saw."},"content":{"rendered":"
The stoplight is red and the \u201cOVERHEIGHT MUST TURN\u201d sign flashes urgently as a semi-truck waits at the intersection. The driver has a moment to consider turning before impact with the railroad bridge above Gregson Street. Instead they keep going and approach the bridge at a crawl, hesitate, then charge on. Wrong move.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The crash on Nov. 13, 2020, was just one of more than 160 recorded in this very spot, the scars etched onto the bridge\u2019s protective beam. The beam is the real foe, unmoving and unforgiving. Its scratches are an inventory of human error, of man versus metal (man losing).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The bridge at the Norfolk Southern\u2013Gregson Street Underpass is known to the world as the Can Opener for the merciless way the beam peels the tops off of unsuspecting trucks. To watch it (160+ times!) is like seeing a giant hand pull the tab on a can of sardines and seeing the metal curve to unveil the prize within.<\/span><\/p>\n Since 2008, the Can Opener has developed a cult following well beyond Durham. The website <\/span>11foot8.com<\/span><\/a> and its <\/span>YouTube channel<\/span><\/a>, operated by Jurgen Henn, an IT Manager for the Duke <\/span>Center for Autism and Brain Development, <\/span>have shared videos of the crashes from cameras Henn set up at his office in nearby Brightleaf Square, and, later, in a shop kitty-corner to the bridge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Henn, who has worked in Brightleaf Square since 2002, got the idea to start recording the videos after a couple of years of hearing trucks smashing into the beam. His YouTube channel had a slow start but now has 164,000 followers. A typical <\/span>video<\/span><\/a> will get more than 1 million views.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To understand the Can Opener, I watched every video. As I sat in cafes around Durham, I watched hours of scrapes, smashes and crashes, catalogued the human error, the reliability of steel, and the fragility of sheet metal and fiberglass. I laughed and gasped and winced. People stared.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This is what I learned, spiced with some quotes from police reports that give you a flavor of the action.<\/span><\/p>\n VEHICLE 1 WAS IN THE RIGHT LANE OF TRAFFIC TRAVELING SOUTH ON GREGSON ST WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH THE OVERHEAD BRIDGE GUARD JUST SOUTH OF W PEABODY ST<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Drivers cause the crashes, but in the videos, you don\u2019t see the people very much. They exist in the periphery: innocent bystanders shielding themselves from debris or drivers who jump out of the trucks and throw their hats in frustration. The trucks become animated and the people are minimized to supporting characters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n From what I could tell watching all the videos as well as reading accident reports and news coverage, very few injuries have been reported, and no one has died in the crashes. The majority of the harm seems to be to the drivers\u2019 pride.<\/span><\/p>\n While each crash is its own special snowflake, I identified three main types of encounters: the Curious Cat, the Bullet, and the Barbershop Shave.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Curious Cat takes a hesitant approach; like a troublemaking feline, the driver suspects something is amiss but can\u2019t stop themselves from exploring. Their foot barely touching the gas, they ease toward the bridge. (Perhaps they believe if they are quiet enough, the Can Opener won\u2019t notice the oversize trailer!) Then they hear the unmistakable bang and metallic scrape from above as the beam peels away their roof. Because they\u2019ve gone slowly, some are able to shift into reverse and delicately extract themselves; others need to be rescued.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Bullet is the most exciting of the Can Opener crashes. The driver approaches with velocity, seemingly unaware of the trap that lies ahead. The impact causes a whiplash, like a dog jerked back by their leash\u2014the cabs sometimes lifted into the air by the impact of the beam. The top layer of aluminum is sometimes guillotined to varying degrees, usually triggering Newton\u2019s first law (objects in motion stay in motion), ensnared where it is crumpled by the equal and opposite force of the wrinkled metal.<\/span><\/p>\n And then there is the Barbershop Shave. These trucks almost clear the height requirement, and usually make it most of the way through without much damage\u2014but they leave with a kiss from the bridge. Debris rains down like rice at a wedding, marking union.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n DRIVER 1 SAID THAT HIS TRUCK IS MEASURED AT 12\u20194\u201d; SIGNAGE FOR THE OVERPASS INDICATED THE CLEARANCE IS 12\u20194\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The North Carolina Department of Transportation has futilely tried to stop the crashes over the years. When I spoke with them, they made it clear that there’s only so much they can do, as the bridge is technically the property of the North Carolina Railroad Company.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou know from our standpoint, we\u2019ve done everything we can do to help the situation,\u201d said Marty Homan, a spokesman at the NCDOT.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In 2013, new signs indicating the height of the bridge were installed, in addition to a static overhead caution \u201cOVERHEIGHT MUST TURN\u201d black and yellow sign, to make the clearance warnings more visible. <\/span>Two hours later, there was a crash.\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n