To keep trucks from hitting it, Tosa looks to add more signs at 'disaster' Swan Boulevard bridge

Heavyweight trucks may soon be prohibited on a stretch of Swan Boulevard in Wauwatosa that passes under a railroad bridge that’s notorious for slicing off the tops of trucks that are too tall to clear it.

The bridge is known to some as the "Swan Slicer," and it even has its own Facebook page with more than 2,000 followers who share pictures and stories of the latest crashes by cement trucks and moving vans.

"We’ve lived near this bridge for 17 years and have gotten used to recognizing that the loud boom (or) crunch is a truck hitting the bridge," one user wrote last September.

Despite there being low-clearance warning signs posted in the area, 40 trucks have struck the bridge in the last five years, according to Michael May, senior traffic engineer of Wauwatosa.

Nine of the crashes have been northbound, the direction in which the bridge is 12 feet high. Thirty-one crashes have been southbound, where the bridge clearance is 11 feet 6 inches.

"Any strike of a low bridge is not good for the integrity," May said.

That’s why he and others in the engineering division of Wauwatosa’s Department of Public Works have recommended the Common Council ask staff to create an ordinance prohibiting truck traffic on Swan Boulevard from Watertown Plank Road to Menomonee River Parkway.

If approved, staff would install “No trucking” signs on that stretch of Swan Boulevard. The ordinance would specify that heavier vehicles like cement trucks are prohibited, since height and weight of vehicles correlate with one another, May said.

"This is an upgrade to existing signs," May said. "We're trying more positive guidance to give truck drivers.”

May first introduced the ordinance to the Transportation Affairs Committee at a meeting March 19.

He said at the meeting the Canadian Pacific Railway owns the bridge and every time it is struck they have to close that part of the bridge and do an inspection. The city itself wouldn't have any inspection authority, as the bridge is technically on county land, May said.

Transportation Affairs Committee members unanimously voted to send the issue to the Common Council, which referred it back to the committee for a final discussion. The committee will discuss the ordinance April 9 before it goes to the Common Council for final approval April 16.

The Engineering division also plans to add additional low clearance signs ahead of the Swan Boulevard Bridge that won't need Common Council approval.

Southbound drivers on Swan Boulevard would see a sign that says they must turn right onto Menomonee River Parkway, May said.

Drivers coming from the east on Menomonee River Parkway would see a sign that says “11 feet 6 inches, no left turn" to prevent drivers from turning onto southbound Swan Boulevard.Those from the west on Menomonee River Parkway would get a sign that says “no right turn” and signals that the bridge is low clearance, according to May. All signs would be paid for with money in the city’s existing sign budget, according to the proposal.

Ald. Melissa Dolan, a member of the Transportation Affairs Committee, said the ordinance and updated signage are well overdue and she’s thankful that the decision is now before city officials.

“Safety is always paramount in my mind, and this particular road and bridge has proven itself a disaster,” she said.

Members of the Swan Slicer Facebook page agree. The page has become a place for people to commiserate about continuous crashes, share photos of the latest truck to hit the Slicer and come up with their own solutions, even if they're partly jokes.

"How about a huge sign with (a) picture of a truck tore up and a phrase saying: '13 trucks thought they could pass. Are you next?' one member commented.

"A couple days ago I saw a truck reversing to turn around and not hit the bridge. I really wanted to leave my car in the middle of the street and tell him good job," another commented.

May acknowledges signs can’t physically force a driver not to continue forward, but thinks the ordinance and adding signage at locations ahead of Swan Boulevard will help.

He said the city will keep watching data on the bridge strikes, work in coordination with the police department and review crashes to see where people are coming from to determine how the new guidance is working.

If the railroad is willing to pay for it, another solution down the line could be to install light-up signs that flash and tell the driver their truck is overweight, May said.

May thinks the Swan Slicer Facebook page is helping spread the word, too.

"I think the value of that page is the community awareness,” he said.

He also had some friendly advice for neighbors.

"If you have a contractor or a delivery being made and you live nearby, it's never a bad idea to let them know they can't make it under this bridge if they're too tall," he said.

Contact the reporter at bfogarty@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tosa planning more signs to prohibit trucks at Swan Boulevard bridge