A string of crashes involving large trucks under the Peace Street railroad bridge in Raleigh this week have prompted questions about the cause of the wrecks and how to prevent them.
A box truck and a tractor trailer both struck the bridge hours apart on Thursday. The tops of the two vehicles were ripped off in the crash, prompting the nickname "The Peace Street Peeler." The incidents bring the total number of crashes at the bridge to at least five in the last two weeks, with several more happening across the bridge's decades-long history.
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Several warning signs alerting drivers to the bridge's low clearance of 12 feet and four inches are posted in both directions on Peace Street leading to the bridge.
After the two crashes this week, WRAL crews measured portions of the bridge. The unofficial measurements revealed the railroad bridge is roughly 12 feet and nine inches. That's higher than what is posted on warning signs.
People who live near the bridge note Peace Street's steep approach to the bridge.
"It's steep and it gets really congested," one pedestrian said.
A WRAL analysis of topographical maps shows Peace Street drops roughly four feet in the 50 feet that lead up to the bridge when approaching it from Glenwood Avenue.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation on Friday posted a video to X urging drivers to check their vehicle's height.
WRAL asked the department if the slope of the road should also be considered in addition to the truck and bridge's height.
A department spokesperson referred WRAL to the City of Raleigh, which owns the portion of Peace Street underneath the railroad bridge. A Raleigh spokesperson said they are working on a response to our questions.
Meanwhile transport company Norfolk Southern operates over the bridge, but a spokesperson said they do not own it. In repeated statements to WRAL, a spokesperson wrote, "determination and enforcement of height restrictions for vehicles traveling on any given roadway are the purview of the roadway owner."
The Raleigh Police Department said the department had responded to at least 13 crashes involving the bridge since 2021. In 10 of those crashes, officers identified "Inattention or Disregarded Other Traffic Signals" as a contributing factor.