New Andover Fire Truck Doesn't Fit Under Bridge

ANDOVER, MA — The new ladder truck the Andover Fire Department put into service last month does not fit under the Horn Bridge, the small railroad bridge that runs over Central Street at the intersection of Andover Street and Red Spring Road. The truck, which cost the town $1 million, is about 5 inches too tall to clear the bridge, which has a clearance of 11 feet, 6 inches.

"The manufacturer is currently working on solutions to rectify the situation," Andover Fire Chief Michael B. Mansfield said in an email Monday morning. Mansfield did not elaborate or comment on what the department was doing until the situation is fixed.

A photo of the truck failing to go under the bridge was posted to a Facebook group for Andover residents over the weekend. The photo was later removed.

"The truck was built to fit under the Horn Bridge," Andover Town Manager Andrew Flanagan said. "We are going through a process of post-delivery adjustments with the manufacturer as we prepare to put the truck in service."

The bridge is a notorious rush-hour traffic bottleneck that's occasionally made worse when a truck gets stuck under it. The bridge sits at a key access point dividing the east and west sides of the town.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).