CENTREVILLE – A detour around St. Joseph County’s iconic Langley Covered Bridge will be in place through at least late December after height limiters at both ends of the structure were struck on separate occasions earlier this month.
Road commission manager John Lindsey said the height limiters, in both cases, were knocked over. In addition, their concrete bases were damaged.
The first incident occurred around 6 a.m. Dec. 2 on the south side of the bridge. Lindsey said a 30-foot utility trailer being pulled by a pickup struck and severely damaged the height limiter. The driver and his passengers, based out of LaGrange, Indiana, were on their way to a construction job site.
Lindsey said the agency decided to keep the bridge open despite the lack of a height precaution. However, around 11 p.m. five days later, a pickup with an in-bed camper proceeded northbound through the bridge and the camper struck the height restrictor on the north side of the bridge.
Lindsey said the force knocked the camper off the bed of the pickup.
Langley Covered Bridge will be closed at least until late December after height limiters on both sides of the bridge were struck in separate incidents within a five-day period earlier this month.
“The guy just left the camper,” Lindsey said. “Central Dispatch called and told us the height restrictor along with the camper were lying in the middle of the road.”
As of Monday afternoon, the camper was still there, though it had been moved further north and to the east side of the closed roadway.
The driver in that case is from Kalamazoo County, Lindsey said.
Both objects exceeded the 7-foot height limit set for the bridge. In addition, the truck and utility trailer involved in the initial crash grossly exceeded the bridge’s 3-ton weight limit, Lindsey noted.
He said both drivers were ticketed by police for disregarding traffic-control devices. Lindsey added that the cost of the damage – which could reach close to $10,000 per side – will be paid for by the drivers involved in both incidents. He said the agency has secured insurance information from both drivers.
Lindsey said he is dumbfounded by how many motorists don’t see or pay heed to the numerous warning signs in place miles before the bridge.
“The signs are all over the place. I think there are seven or eight from M-60 if you’re going south (on Silver Street),” he said. “When you’re going north, there aren’t as many but they still mention 3-ton weight limit and 7-foot height limit. And those are in addition to the LED flashing lights we have on either side of the causeway.”
Lindsey said he is open to suggestions regarding what more the agency can do to alert motorists of the bridge’s height and weight restrictions. He even suggested a series of cleverly worded signs – in the style of the old Burma Shave billboards – might be worth considering.
He said GPS is partially to blame for the continued crashes.
“GPS sends you that way, I get it,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s OK to disregard the multiple warnings you should see before you get to the bridge.”
In the meantime, traffic is being detoured east to Angevine Road through the length of the closure.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Langley Covered Bridge near Centreville closes following crashes