House bill targets bridge strikes from large trucks

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have introduced legislation aimed at preventing bridge strikes.

According to the New York Governor’s Office, 350 bridge strikes occurred in the state in 2024, with the majority involving large trucks. Pennsylvania officials say the state had more than 600 incidents between 2013 and 2023.

In response, representatives from the two states have introduced the Bridges Not Bumpers Act of 2025.

Reps. George Latimer, D-N.Y., and Rob Bresnahan Jr., R-Pa., introduced HR6531 on Dec. 9.

“Bridge strikes by large trucks are preventable and are a real problem in the New York metropolitan area,” Latimer said in a news release. “They strain local governments who often bear the financial burden of fixing damaged bridges or redesigning infrastructure to prevent future strikes. They also burden local law enforcement who must divert resources to remove trucks from under bridges and redirect traffic to alternative routes. In the past, I made eliminating bridge strikes a priority and worked closely with state and local officials to find solutions. I am proud to continue that work as a member of the House of Representatives and working across the aisle with Rep. Bresnahan to get this done.”

The Bridges Not Bumpers Act would:

• Direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a Bridge Clearance Strike Working Group to make recommendations on, among other things, (1) ways to improve public-private data sharing regarding bridge clearance and truck route data, (2) ways to improve the availability of truck specific information and route signs on GPS navigation tools and (3) ways for companies that rent trucks to clearly label their vehicles with height and weight information
• Direct the Secretary of Transportation to create a National Clearinghouse for Bridge and Tunnel Clearance Strikes to serve as a centralized repository for data collection and dissemination of best practices to prevent bridge strikes by commercial motor vehicles
• Direct the Secretary of Transportation to create a grant program to conduct research using the Clearinghouse to (1) identify locations for potential infrastructure improvement projects to mitigate bridge and tunnel clearance strikes, (2) conduct preliminary engineering tasks to analyze alternative bridge strike mitigation options and identify preferred mitigation alternative recommendations and (3) assess the effectiveness of currently implemented and future countermeasures, as well as strategies and programs to reduce such incidents

As of Dec. 17, the bill had eight co-sponsors. LL