Sunday, July 26, 2020

But wait! There's more!

For those of you who have been around Kirkland very long, the term "Truck Eating Bridge" is a familiar one.  Well, on both the west and the east sides of that bridge, there were old, very faded Northern Pacific logos. Spurred on by Sandy Ekins, a long-time Kirkland resident, business owner, past president of Kirkland Rotary, etc. etc., David took on the task of restoring both logos.

First, he worked on the one on the west side.  With pictures of the Northern Pacific logo in his left hand, paint brush in this right, and somehow holding on to the ladder, he completed that logo.  He received many honks, cheers, and shouts of "thank you" from passing motorists which no doubt steadied his hand and helped his balance.

The restored logo on the west side of the bridge.

Then he moved on to the east side.  This one is a little trickier because the ground is sloped rather than level, but he was making great progress when WHAM! the bridge caught another truck.  Somehow the difficulty of driving a 12' 6" truck under an 11' 6" bridge had not registered with the driver. David quickly checked to make sure the driver was not injured and then calmly continued painting. The east bound lane of Kirkland Way was blocked and the police arrived to direct traffic and deal with the truck and driver.

David painting the logo while a truck is firmly stuck under the bridge..

So next time you drive your less than 11'6" vehicle under the infamous bridge, take a quick look at the lovingly restored logos!



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