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City frustrated as truck lodged under bridge one week after Victoria installs new signage

Dozens of trucks and buses have hit the E&N Rail bridge on Hereward Road
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A semi-truck got lodged under the E&N bridge on Hereward Road on Tuesday. (Black Press Media File Photo)

Another truck became lodged under an E&N railway bridge on Hereward Road this week, just days after the City of Victoria installed additional warning signs about the 3.7 metre barrier.

The notorious bridge has seen dozens of trucks get stuck in a similar situation, earning itself the nickname “the can opener.”

The short road runs through a semi-industrial area between Pine and Wilson streets and neighbours the head office for Monk Office Supply, as well as a Wholesale Club and a U-Pak Mobile Storage facility, making it a popular area for semi-trucks and moving trucks looking to take a short cut.

Next to the E&N Railway bridge is another concrete bridge. On either end of the road are signs warning of the low bridge.

ALSO READ: Colwood fire trucks too heavy to cross Esquimalt Lagoon Bridge

Despite the signage drivers continue to use the road, leaving parties involved in monitoring the route throwing their hands up.

“It’s a driver’s responsibility to know the height of their vehicle,” said Bill Eisenhauer, head of engagement at the City of Victoria. “It is not a designated trucking route. It is appropriately signed.”

The road sits right at the border of Esquimalt, which holds the alternative route down Dominion Road just one street away. Esquimalt told Black Press Media it has no role in signage, since the road is in Victoria.

The City of Victoria does have designated trucking routes; on the City’s end of things Dominion Road is approved – up until it hits Hereward Road – and then reconnects at Esquimalt Road, leaving a tempting strip of road for drivers looking for a shortcut. The alternative route is a loop through Esquimalt on Devonshire, Fairview and Viewfield roads.

Trucking routes approved by the City of Victoria are outlined in black. (File contributed/ City of Victoria)

Esquimalt doesn’t have any official trucking routes, though it does have a list of streets banned for use by trucks that weigh more than 10,000 kg; all of those roads are exempt from the ban, as are alternative routes down Tillicum and Lampson Roads.

Trucking routes banned by the Township of Esquimalt are outlined in blue (File contributed/ Township of Esquimalt)

In 2018 Black Press Media learned that popular navigation and trucking apps suggest the route down Hereward Road.

READ MORE: Transport truck navigation apps don’t warn drivers about low bridge in Esquimalt

Eisenhauer said it was up to trucking companies to alert other companies of these issues.

In 2018, the Island Corridor Foundation (ICF), which owns the E&N bridge said they would look into the issue. Black Press Media reached out to the ICF for comment, but no one was available.

nicole.crescenzi@vicnews.com

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