You thought the Can Opener Bridge was gone? Think again.
On September 29, an HVAC truck sped through the intersection of Gregson and Peabody only to get its roof ripped off a second later in a clean precision only the almighty Can Opener Bridge can give.
The decapitation was caught in a video posted to the 11 Foot 8 website and YouTube account last week.
It was the third sacrifice that month, and the ninth truck de-roofed since the bridge was raised at the end of 2019.
ICYMI the Can Opener said:
“NOMNOMNOMNOMNOM” pic.twitter.com/mic6q5egY1
— Durham, NC (@DurhamNC) October 5, 2020
The Durham Transportation Department announced last October it would be raising the bridge eight inches, so the 11-foot-8 bridge is actually a hefty 12-foot-4 now. This is still under North Carolina’s 15-foot height requirement for city bridges but is allowed since the bridge was built before the requirement.
The bridge is owned by the North Carolina Railroad Company, a private corporation whose stocks are all owned by the state, which paid half a million dollars to lift the notorious roof-shaver.
The Discover Durham Twitter account brought the video to the public’s attention Monday afternoon, allowing users to briefly ignore our hellscape, lean back on the couch, and say “nice.”
While all Can Opener Bridge videos are beautiful, this one has several components to ensure maximum serotonin upon watching. There’s the giant sign saying the truck must turn, and the truck rushing past it as it tried to beat the stoplight. There’s the precision of the cut, which is so perfect it makes the scalped roof look like deli meat. Then there’s the witnesses: a teal minivan that minds its own business, and a jaywalking man who stops to grab a pic after hearing the crash.
Cheers, you starving metal overpass.
Because it had to be made
Can Opener fancam ✨ pic.twitter.com/XYTGRN1fjC
— Durham, NC (@DurhamNC) October 6, 2020
Follow Digital Content Manager Sara Pequeño on Twitter or send an email to spequeno@indyweek.com.
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