LANSING — Concerned Lansing culturalists have updated Google to rename the Pennsylvania Avenue railroad bridge in honor of its “truck eating” habits.
A Google search for “Penny the Truck and Camper Eating Bridge” quickly brings up a listing for the Canadian National Railway bridge, complete with a photo of a semi-truck stuck underneath its 12-foot deck.
The bridge, just north of the Red Cedar River, has become renown for shearing off the tops of trailers and RVs that dare to slip underneath its lower-than-typical span. Recently, teeth were added to the bridge, giving it a sinister look for those driving under it.
This past week, in addition to grabbing several recent tractor-trailers, the concrete span claimed a large RV that had to be towed from underneath.
The Google listing calls the span a “cultural landmark in Lansing, Michigan.”
The bridge, built in 1928, received a 4.9-star rating. One review called it “Best truck/trailer eatter I’ve every seen” while another said, “My truck made it through unscathed. Not even a small bite mark. Sorely disappointed. Wrote a strongly worded letter to the city planner. Won’t visit again.”
The listing includes a website that takes readers to a site that includes a photo, suggests people work on being as “staunch” as the bridge and includes a somewhat suspect number of “trucks eaten” to “trucks given.”
STUPID, the Society for Totally Useless Pranks and Immature Dumbassery, identifies itself as a nonprofit on Facebook and explained its reasons for adding the monstrous toothy, touches to the bridge it calls “Big Penny.”
“Lansing we are STUPID, and we love to make you smile!” a Facebook post said.
There are at least three signs ahead of the railroad bridge in each direction, warning in yellow about the “12 ft 0 in” clearance. And there’s a digital sign with flashing warning lights that will turn on if an over-height truck approaches.