As you probably have heard, the bridge that carries County Rt. 11-C
over the Susquehanna River was damaged recently by a tractor-trailer
rig. The truck was almost two feet higher than the posted height of
the bridge, and took out two overhead trusses before it came to a
stop. There was other serious damage, as well, and the bridge will
have to be replaced.
This is a beautiful spot, about three miles south of Cooperstown,
where Oak Creek, flowing south from Canadarago Lake, joins the
Susquehanna. The bridge was old, and overdue for replacement. For
this reason, the trucking company's liability may be limited; I'm not
sure whether insurance is involved, but if so, it would also be
minimal. The bridge will be replaced, but it will take about a year;
the county employees at the Meadows will have to go all the way up
into Cooperstown and then south again to get their Big Macs for
lunch. It will cost nearly one and a half million un-budgeted
dollars, minus reimbursement from the trucking company or insurance,
if any.
The truck, it turns out, was on its way to Brewery Ommegang – from
I-88! If you're familiar with the area, you'll realize that the
driver was taking the very long way around. But he was, apparently,
using Mapquest, and if you're familiar with Mapquest, you'll realize
that this is about par for the course. Before we moved to Oneonta,
we lived on a lane-and-a-half dirt road high up on a hill overlooking
the landscape north of Worcester. One day, we heard a semi laboring
up the hill, taking up the whole road. They stopped at our house
(the only one on the hill) for directions. Turns out Mapquest had
routed them up our road: it was, after all, the most direct route.
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