A truck-munching bridge that’s become something of a local celebrity in Lansing, Michigan, got a makeover and now sports googly eyes and teeth. The bridge is locally known as Big Penny, and it has a reputation for “eating” unsuspecting trucks and RVs that fail to notice its low clearance height of 12 feet, which is shorter than the average big rig hauling a trailer.
An anonymous artist and their partner have given Big Penny googly eyes and styrofoam teeth—sharp canines and all—partially as a warning to drivers, but mostly for a laugh, as WILX reports. The artists seem to have joined in on the City of Lansing’s collective joke, whose punchline has been dozens of truck trailers and RVs that have had their roofs sheared off or otherwise destroyed while trying to clear the low bridge. And what could be more fitting for a truck-eating bridge than a pair of goofy eyes and big fangs?
Big Penny is actually called the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge given its location along, well, South Pennsylvania Ave., near the Potter Park Zoo, according to WILX. But the notorious underpass has unofficially come to be known as “Big Penny, the Truck Munching Bridge,” as this excellent photoshop of Lansing’s welcome sign illustrates. The city really ought to make it real.
The artist tells local reporters the googly eyes and foam teeth are fixed to the bridge with adhesive, so that they can be easily removed if needed. These latest decorations join a number of other unofficial signs on display near the bridge, one of which reads Big Penny’s number of victims claimed so far: 72. This year alone, Penny has taken a bite out of 19 trucks and RVs, according to the bridge’s page on Facebook. While the bridge has stood since 1928, most (if not all) of its victims have reportedly been claimed from 2004 onward.
Together with their trailers, semis can reach a height of 13.5 feet on average, while the bridge has a clearance of only 12 feet. Lansing police put up a device that reads the height of heavy trucks and other vehicles as they approach the underpass, which flashes a warning that reads “Truck too high,” if the vehicles are over 12-feet tall, per WILX. There are also clearly posted “Low Clearance” signs around the bridge, and, yet, Big Penny keeps claiming new victims every year.
The artists say the face they’ve given Big Penny could help inattentive drivers pay attention to the bridge and avert disaster. Apparently, it’s pretty common in Lansing to drive a big rig on public roads and still be oblivious to warning signs. To be fair, the googly eyes and teeth do make the bridge stand out, but it’s likely Big Penny will keep shearing off roofs and catching RVs in its maw.
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