This story first appeared in the Valley News on May 22.
ROYALTON — A house crashed into a bridge in Royalton on Sunday but there were no reported injuries, according to authorities.
An operator of a truck hauling a “tiny house” crashed into the single-lane railroad underpass bridge on Route 14 near Vesper Road on Sunday morning, closing traffic for more than an hour while police responded to the scene.
“A gentleman was trying to move one of those small houses and he hit the bridge with the house” as he attempted to drive through the underpass of the railroad bridge, Royalton Police Chief Loretta Stalnaker said on Monday.
She said the operator of the truck hauling the house was not cited but his identity and information were provided to the railroad track’s owner, New England Central Railroad, “for insurance purposes.”
“I think he just underestimated how big his load was,” Stalnaker said.
A spokesperson for the railroad said via email Monday that “there was no damage nor delays in rail service.”
The stone railroad bridge and underpass, which has a vertical height of 12 feet and length of 21 feet and was built in 1909, is currently undergoing a full replacement project by the Vermont Agency of Transportation, which describes the structure as “in poor condition with frequent vehicle impacts.”
The new underpass will be widened to include two-way traffic with double 11-foot lanes and the vertical height will be increased to 14½ feet. The replacement project is scheduled to be completed later this year.
Stalnaker said raising the height and widening the width of the underpass should reduce accidents, which have been abetted by the underpass’ shallow and narrow structure and the S-curve approach to it on Route 14.
“It’s been hit quite a bit,” she said.