Railroad Bridge Damage Closes Botsford Hill Road

The section of Botsford Hill Road near the Housatonic Railroad’s rail freight bridge was closed to traffic for more than five hours Tuesday afternoon, after a truck struck and damaged the bridge, requiring bridge inspection and repairs, according to police.

Police said David Sacco, 37, of West Haven was driving a commercial 2004 International 4000 box truck southward on Botsford Hill Road about 12:38 pm, when he attempted to drive beneath the low-clearance railroad overpass.

The overpass is marked with warning signs that its clearance is 11 feet, 6 inches. The truck that Sacco was driving is 13 feet, 6 inches tall, police said.

Sacco told police that he did not see the warning signs.

Police said the truck’s cargo box struck a support beam on the underside of the railroad overpass and became lodged underneath the span. Sacco was able to back out from beneath the bridge. The truck’s  cargo box was damaged. Sacco was not injured.

Police called Housatonic Railroad workers to alert them of the damaged bridge.

After inspecting the damage, the workers removed a piece of loose concrete from the span to prevent it from falling onto the road below, police said. The bridge has often been hit by vehicles that are too tall to pass beneath it.

Police issued Sacco an infraction ticket for hitting the bridge with a vehicle that is too tall to pass beneath it.

Police said the section of Botsford Hill Road, which was closed to traffic while bridge inspections and repairs were underway, was reopened to traffic at about 6 pm. Detours were used while the road was closed.

The rail bridge is located between Botsford Hill Road’s intersections with Swamp Road and High Bridge Road.