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Semi-Trailer Stuck Under Viaduct in Bucktown

By Mike Brockway | February 1, 2013 6:11pm

CHICAGO — A semi-trailer lodged beneath a Metra viaduct slowed traffic in Bucktown Friday afternoon.

It took crews more than an hour to dislodge the truck from the viaduct on Webster Street, just east of Damen and the Kennedy Expressway in Bucktown.

The truck, heading eastbound on Webster, passed under the I-90/94 viaduct without incident but became lodged beneath the viaduct supporting the Union Pacific Northwest Metra line. Both signs, however, show a clearance of 12-foot-four.

The crash occurred at approximately 3:15 PM and had traffic blocked on Webster in both directions for just over an hour.

Alderman Scott Waguespack (32nd) along with ward staff and volunteers were on the scene helping detour traffic from the accident scene as no Chicago Police personel responded to the incident.

Union Pacific crews and multiple big rig tow trucks were called in to free the trailer, which hit the viaduct with such impact it forced some of the wheels off the ground.

"I've seen 30 to 40 of these in my lifetime," said Steve Jensen, Bucktown Community Organization President and volunteer for the 32nd Ward office. "But I've never seen a trailer get as far as that. Most of the time they get stuck a few feet in. My first thought was he must have really been hauling."

"It must have been going pretty fast," added Waguespack. "I'd say at least 30 miles per hour."