WHITE RIVER JUNCTION - A very loud bang just before noon on Wednesday accompanied a crash between a garbage truck and a small but strategic railroad trestle that sits next to Hartford’s Town Hall.
The collision sent the driver of the Casella Waste Management truck, Robert Willey, 71, to the hospital with injuries to his face and hands and left a foot-tall gash through the side of one of four steel I-beams that hold up the railroad track, noticeably bending the beam itself.
Police said it appeared that Willey had just dropped off a dumpster and apparently forgotten to lower the hydraulically operated cable-hoist mechanism on his “Roll Off truck” as he was returning to White River Junction along Maple Street.
The railroad overpass sits between Hartford Town Hall and the neighboring LISTEN Center, marked with a maximum clearance height of 13-feet-6-inches; it appeared the impact point was at least a couple of feet above that safety margin.
The force of the hit bent the thick steel hoist bed on back of the truck—which would normally lie flat—into a 90-degree angle and ruptured lines underneath the truck, which then leaked hydraulic fluid down Maple Street almost to the intersection with Pine Street before the stunned Willey managed to bring the truck to a halt.
Although at first glance the bridge seemed normal, the extent of the damage became apparent as first responders and then railroad track crews took turns inspecting it Wednesday afternoon, revealing just how far the force of the momentary impact had travelled.
Numerous three-quarter-inch-diameter bolts were sheared off and scattered around Maple Street as a couple of steel diaphragms between the beams snapped loose. Vertical steel rods that anchor wooden railroad ties to the bridge deck were driven straight up, and over 50 feet of rails beyond the north end of the trestle were also leveraged upwards, pulling dozens of spikes out along their length.
A dozen members of Vermont Rail’s track crew came from as far as Rutland and Barre during the afternoon and worked until after darkness fell, shimming the displaced track back into place.
A state bridge inspector was on the scene taking measurements and photographs; crews said that a meeting would take place Thursday morning to discuss whether Wednesday’s repairs were sufficient to resume freight service or whether a more extensive overhaul would be required.
The line, which runs up the eastern edge of Vermont between White River Junction and Newport serving a number of businesses along the way is technically known as the Lyndonville Subdivision of the Vermont Rail System. It typically sees an average of at least one freight train crossing it every day.
The story in photos:
The collision left the hoist crane on the back of the Roll Off truck bent upwards at an unusual angle. Normally the hydraulically operated crane bed would lie flat when not being used. All photos © Eric Francis
A Casella employee photographs the damaged railroad trestle that spans Maple Street in White River Junction.
The impact left a foot-tall gash straight through the side of easternmost steel I-beam on the bridge structure. It also bent the beam.
Zach Josler and Stephen Krueger (right) of Sabil & Sons wrecker service worked underneath the disabled truck to strap the front axle to a tow bar so it could be removed from the scene.
Casella Waste Management employees used Speedi Dry absorbent to soak up the spilled hydraulic fluid from Maple Street after the truck was towed away.
A Vermont Rail track inspector photographed railroad spikes that had been pulled up when the rail leading to the trestle flexed from the force of the collision.
A track maintenance crew looks over the top of the damaged railroad overpass. Steel rods that secure the ties to the bridge can be seen sticking up in the center where they were driven upwards by the impact.
Vermont Rail track maintenance crews worked until after dark Wednesday to shim over fifty feet of track leading to the bridge back into place.
It won't be known until Thursday morning whether the repairs were sufficient to allow freight trains to cross the trestle safely.
