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Back in the mid 1970s, a friend bought a house from the hospital for $1, moved it across town, and restored it. Adjacent was a railroad bridge at about 11 feet. Trucks would strike that bridge at least once a week. It was a normal neighborhood sound.
Just happened to be back in that state this week. NJ Transit (without interrupting service on their main line) raised that bridge almost three feet. It is only at 13 feet 11 inches. No problem. They simply jacked up the bridge, poured new concrete atop existing supports, and made the appropriate grade changes to the tracks. You can even see where cleaner, new concrete now supports that bridge.
Back then, that bridge was constantly scarred from recent strikes. I looked closely. Today, no scars from any trucks hitting that bridge. They fixed the problem rather than make excuses - ie deny that 14 foot is this nation's de facto standard.
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