The Norfolk Southern–Gregson Street Overpass is a railroad bridge in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Built in 1940, the bridge allows passenger and freight trains to cross over South Gregson Street in downtown Durham and also functions as the northbound access to the nearby Durham Amtrak station.

Eleven thousand vehicles a day pass along this street and under the bridge. What makes the bridge unusual is it is hit so many times. It is clearly signposted and, since May 2016, when an over-height vehicle approaches, the traffic signal cycles to red and a blank-out sign affixed to the signal’s mast arm illuminates and flashes the message “OVERHEIGHT MUST TURN” in white.

Yet vehicles still hit the bridge and a YouTube channel is set up so you can watch them.

What are the bridge challenges you have at work? What are the problems which, however they are mitigated, result in crashes and problems?

Just setting an aim and direction that you want people to stop hitting the bridge won’t work; people need to know how and why.

Telling everyone you think needs to know about the bridge isn’t enough; who have you forgotten to get the message out to?

You’re not going to solve it with process changes alone; even after installing signs trucks still crash.

You’ll not solve it with training alone; people forget or never encounter the situation until after they’ve forgotten how to deal with it.

You need to engage with the culture which is causing the crashes; some people won’t trust your signs and will carry on regardless because they’re ‘right’.

To stop crashes happening you need to do all of these:

• Have a clear intent everyone knows about and understands
• Have clear responsibilities and accountabilities which are communicated forensically to anyone who needs to know
• Be able to describe the process change in complete detail when needed
• Explain the skills, attitudes, behaviours, and ethics which are being applied to the work
• Describe the cultural hurdles and aids to make the change consistent and permanent

What is your 11foot8 bridge? Let me know in the comments.