April 29, 2007
Tanker Fire Destroys Freeway Interchange, Snarls Bay Area Traffic
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Pictures here. Video here and here.
The tanker truck crashed while on the connector from westbound I-80 (the Eastshore Freeway) to southbound I-880 (the Nimitz Freeway). The connector from eastbound I-80 to eastbound I-580 (the MacArthur Freeway) softened and melted from the heat of the fire, draping itself over the Eastshore-to-Nimitz connector.
The driver of the truck was able to walk away and hail a cab that took him to an area hospital for treatment of his burns.
The destruction and blockage of freeway connectors poses a disruption of traffic around the approaches to the Bay Bridge and through Emeryville and Oakland comparable to those caused by the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989. The Bay Bridge is open and traffic can get from the East Bay to San Francisco, but major routes through the MacArthur Maze are closed. CalTrans is scrambling to route detours around the severed traffic arteries.
Update: Baconmonkey's video is now available on YouTube:
(hat tips to Lynn Kendall, Nick Mamatas, and baconmonkey)
Posted by abostick at April 29, 2007 12:34 PMWow! The amazing thing is no one was killed and only the driver had any injuries resulting from this accident and collapse. Good thing it happened at such a slow time traffic-wise.
But what a mess for commuters for a while. Not fun.
Posted by: Sabyl at April 29, 2007 03:10 PMI hate heights. I really hate elevated interchanges. This doesn't make me feel any better about them.
Posted by: Mark Gritter at April 29, 2007 05:48 PM
