The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is suing All State Waste for a 2022 crash by one of its drivers that damaged the Auburn Street I-90 overpass in Newton.

The state had to not only repair the bridge, which sustained significant damage, but also clean up the diesel fuel and hydraulic fluid that spilled onto the highway. MassDOT is asking for 1.5 million dollars in damages.

All State Waste is a trash removal company based in Bridgewater. The driver had the pneumatic lift of the trash hauler raised, and it was too tall for the bridge. Debris being hauled by the truck struck the bridge.

A 2022 video report from WCVB shows the aftermath of the crash.

This isn’t the first time the state has sued companies over the damage their vehicle did to a state-owned bridge. In 2022, the state sued a New York man for the damage his excavator did to two bridges in Western Mass. In 2024, MassDOT sued an Alabama company for the damage its truck did to a bridge in Medford. The outcomes of these cases have yet to be determined.

While drivers may receive fines for hitting bridges, these fines are a few hundred dollars and come nowhere near the cost of fixing damaged bridges and overpasses, leading the state to sue the owner of the truck or other equipment.

Trucks hitting bridges is a frequent issue on Storrow Drive in Boston, because of the low clearance of its bridges—often only 10 feet, which is lower than the federal norm of 13’6”. In this case, however, the overpass is not unusually low; the pneumatic lift being raised is what led to the crash.