By Sarah Richardson
The freshly-rebuilt corner of Bella’s in downtown Lewisburg was once again struck by a turning semi truck this week, despite posted signage from the Department of Highways on both Washington Street and several side streets stating “No Right Turns for Trucks Longer than 50 Feet.” A video of the incident shows the driver attempting the right hand turn from Washington Street onto 219 heading north, when the trailer he is hauling hops the curb and catches the corner of the building.
The “no turning” signs were installed last year as a measure aimed at mitigating large interstate trucks failing to navigate the intersection from US 60 west onto US 219 north, while continuing to allow smaller delivery trucks and commercial vehicles to navigate through the city. Commercial traffic is asked to schedule their routes accordingly because the turn restriction requires interstate trucks greater than 50 feet long to continue on US 60 westbound for approximately 11 miles before reentering Interstate 64 at Alta.
The driver of the semi stopped after the hit and was addressed by local law enforcement.
