The toughest bridge in the world

Idiotic drivers.

Carpenters Road bridge near the Olympic Park in Newham was notorious for getting hit by lorries, despite it having large 10'-6" signs for the clearance.

The reason was that there was a massive dip in the road right under the centre of the bridge, so it wasn't 10'-6" at the edges of the bridge.

And as a short cut to Hackney it was used all day by heavy traffic.

I was in the Carpenters Arms pub many years ago when a frozen food lorry hit the bridge (Birds Eye or Findus, can't remember) 

The drive got stuck and tried to reverse out, which ripped the front and the fridge unit right off the trailer.

Locals stocked up on fish fingers

Even better was when it poured with rain and the drains were blocked by litter. It would be over 2 feet deep right in the middle, but if you didn't know the road it didn't look deep at all.

Loads of car drivers got stranded in it.

Abbey Lane in Stratford was another one, 9 feet 6, It had steel pipes hanging on chains from a gantry 30 feet from the bridge, if you hit the chains you won't fit under the bridge.

Local kids used to wind the chains over the top of the gantry, making lorry drivers think they would fit under the bridge.   

Just looked on Google maps, the road is closed off either side of it now.

Me and 4 mates were in the back of a brand new Ford Cargo (about 1968) We were all cadging a lift to the A13 in Custom House instead of walking to Stratford Broadway and getting a 249 bus to the docks.

The drivers normal lorry was in for a service and he had this to go home in, to Ockendon. His normal lorry wasn't as high and did fit under the bridge.   

At the last second before Abbey Lane bridge he turned the steering wheel sharply, causing chaos in the back. I got off lightly with a broken finger which got trapped between two 45 gallon drums. One of my mates got a meat hook in his leg and had to go to hospital.

We never said anything to our boss as the driver could have been sacked for having us in the back.