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Wrong-way 18-wheel rig takes trip down Boardwalk

The driver reportedly was only following the directions from his GPS.

This tractor trailer got stuck on the boardwalk in Ventnor after a trip that started in Atlantic City.
This tractor trailer got stuck on the boardwalk in Ventnor after a trip that started in Atlantic City.Read moreVentnor City Police Department

Think your know-it-all GPS is annoying?

Police found an 18-wheeler cruising along the Ventnor boardwalk early Wednesday morning after it tried to make a U-turn and was directed onto the famous wooden way in Atlantic City, reportedly by the driver's GPS.

The truck apparently entered the boardwalk at Albany Avenue in Atlantic City, where the ramp is particularly wide, according to Ventnor Police Chief Douglas Biagi.

Biagi said the wayward truck driver then cruised down the boardwalk, its lights flashing, for nearly three miles into Ventnor, where it was noticed by a policeman near Washington Avenue.

The truck driver was in the process of delivering supplies to a construction site on Albany Avenue, where Stockton University is building a $50 million student residence campus.

Apparently the truck had been attempting to make a U-turn and was guided by GPS to enter the boardwalk.  The famous boardwalk is designated as an actual street on maps and other transit publications.

To remove the giant truck, Ventnor public works crews spent about four hours dismantling more than 100 feet of metal railing and benches and built a berm to get the tractor trailer off the boardwalk.

The actual tractor truck section of the big rig was driven off the boardwalk, while a towing-type big rig was brought in to haul the trailer portion away, police said.

No one was injured in the confusion and no other damage was reported.

Police issued the driver a citation for driving on the boardwalk without a permit.  Biagi said the trucking company will likely receive a bill for the undisclosed cost of the removal operation.