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Dunkirk residents fear disaster with frequent bridge mishaps

For the past two months since the Route 5 detour was implemented to divert traffic away from the Canadaway Creek Bridge while it is being replaced, drivers have been ignoring road signs and using local underpasses for target practice with their vehicles.

Local residents have become concerned that something more serious than vehicle damage might happen if something doesn't change quickly. Jay and Barbara Warren, residents of the town of Dunkirk, raised their concerns at a recent Dunkirk Town Board meeting.

"I'm very concerned about it," Jay Warren said. "If it happened a couple times, those things happen, but it happens every day. Every day, some vehicle tries to get through that viaduct and they're too tall. I think it's time somebody speaks up before somebody gets hurt."

The Willow Road railroad underpass has a clearance of just over 10 feet, which drivers often ignore and find themselves stuck or damaged. With Willow Road as an alternative to reach Route 5 from Brigham Road in the city, and Temple Road and Chestnut Road coming from Fredonia, the area has become even more crowded since the detour was implemented. Several semi trucks have been observed backing out of areas they cannot drive through, often utilizing residents' driveways to turn around.

Barbara Warren said she has witnessed incidents on multiple occasions since the detour was implemented. She witnessed a camper "traveling at a really high rate of speed" strike the underpass and have nearly the entire top of the vehicle ripped off. She said it was a frightening experience for everyone involved, including the passengers who she said "almost couldn't believe that it really happened."

Not only is any incident dangerous for the vehicle involved and its passengers, but the debris left at the scene creates a hazard for any drivers who follow their path if not properly discarded immediately. Barbara Warren also noted that semi trucks often travel at a high rate of speed until they reach the Willow Road underpass, and even if they stop before hitting the bridge, they don't always know where to go, or they cause traffic issues when turning around.

"It's pretty serious. Someone is really going to get hurt," Barbara Warren said.

It was announced at the May Dunkirk Town Board meeting that a vehicle struck the underpass. Supervisor Shari Miller said at the time, "I don't know how someone can travel down Route 5 and read 11 signs and not get that they shouldn't be ending up in (a resident's) driveway to turn around. I just don't get it."

But it is not just Willow Road being impacted. The Brigham Road railroad underpass was also stuck by a semi truck as recently as July 17. Despite several detour signs throughout Dunkirk, the semi truck struck the underpass and continued all the way through, ripping the top of the vehicle off. The road was blocked for several hours.

The issue has become so out of control because of the closure of Canadaway Creek Bridge, located on Route 5, just outside of the city of Dunkirk. The closure began in May and is expected until approximately Labor Day, according to the latest update from the State Department of Transportation (DOT). Initially, the DOT said the project will conclude by the end of 2026.

Jay Warren met with State Senator George Borrello and Assemblyman Andrew Molitor about the issue. He said that Borrello agreed that lighted signs that warn drivers of a low bridge ahead should be posted well in advance of the areas in question.

"I'm hoping that they can help us put some pressure on the DOT ... to rectify this with some lighted signboards," Jay Warren said. "... Give them a warning before we have somebody get hurt."

The Town feels that at some point, it is up to drivers to read the signs and do as they are instructed.

"It's the people driving the vehicles that do not know how high the vehicles are. They should not be coming this far. It says local traffic only," Town Clerk Rebecca Yacklon said.

Town Councilman Phil Leone traveled from Westfield to Dunkirk along Route 5, and noted that many signs are placed at points all along the route warning drivers of the upcoming detour and road closure. "There are signs. It's driver error," Leone said.

Supervisor Shari Miller stated that the DOT has placed additional signs on multiple occasions - on May 14 and on June 22 – in an attempt to prevent further incidents from occurring. The DOT has also picked up and reset signs that were knocked over by the rain and wind several times in recent weeks.

"They've been very responsive," Miller said. "There's nothing more (they can do). Unless they're going to start teaching people how to read these signs that say, in clear English, local traffic only."

Jay Warren made a distinction between campers/RVs and semi truck drivers when it comes to issues such as this. He said, "The commercial drivers should know better, but a guy who drives an RV with three kids in the back, what a traumatic experience for them."

In response to Jay Warren, Leone said, "If you have a $100,000 RV, or even close, you're going to want to know how tall that vehicle is before you go through any bridge."

After being struck several times in recent weeks, the Willow Road railroad underpass will be evaluated to assess its structural integrity after the Canadaway Creek Bridge is fully installed. However, the underpass will not be raised due to significant costs associated with a new approach and descent of the railroad.

"They are going to go in and evaluate what's going on, and fix what they need to fix," Miller said.