Bay Bridge entrance "Maze" collapse

[KnottedYet]

Does anyone have helpful news links for this? I don't have cable TV and Trek wants more info than we're finding right now.

How is everyone's commute going to be? More bikes, more BART?

I'm astounded that the tanker truck driver survived the explosion!

[snapdragen]

I've been watching it on the news - www.cbs5.com. What a mess.

Or channel 7 - http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=local&id=5255492

[cindysue]

you may have already seen this, but for others:

Roadway to Bay Bridge collapses after tanker explosion (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/baycitynews/archive/2007/04/29/fire29.DTL)

Bay City News

Sunday, April 29, 2007

A tanker carrying unleaded gasoline exploded early this morning, causing 250 yards of roadway to collapse near Emeryville. The driver walked away from the incident and took a taxi to a nearby hospital where he is being treated for second-degree burns, according to the California Highway Patrol.

California Highway Patrol officer Trenton Cross said he believed speed was a factor in the tanker crash, which caused roadway on Interstate Highway 580 at Interstate Highway 80, located near Emeryville to be completely destroyed. The tanker explosion caused the upper deck of a connector ramp to collapse onto the lower deck, according to a California Highway Patrol dispatcher.

Interstate Highway 580 is closed approaching the San Francisco Bay Bridge, according to the dispatcher.

The dispatcher said eastbound Interstate Highway 80 to eastbound Interstate Highway 580 collapsed after heat from the tanker explosion on the westbound Interstate Highway 580 at Interstate Highway 80 rose and melted the upper roadway.

The dispatcher said traffic continues to flow on to the San Francisco Bay Bridge.

Travelers wishing to enter San Francisco from the East Bay may take Interstate Highway 80, which remains open.

The dispatcher said there is no word on when the roadway will be open, and it could be days if not months before traffic resumes as usual on this stretch of road.

[Trek420]

I'm thinking BART's going to be a zoo this week. Wonder if there will be room for my bike? :o

[maillotpois]

Oh my god. This happened less than an hour after I drove right by there (going from 24/580 to 80) on my way home from the ride this morning (yes, at 3 am).

Holy cow.

They closed the part of the road I take to get to work in the morning. This is going to blow chunks.

[ace]

Commuting is going to be painful. Trek, I think you live in Hayward? Is there an AC Transit bus you can take that circumvents the maze? I think most/all the transbay AC Transit buses let you load bikes onto the front rack. I take the Transbay bus to work, and I think it will be ok- it goes via surface streets to Emeryville, then cuts onto the bridge via a bus lane.

www.actransit.org

Glad you're ok, maillotpois! Thank god no one was hurt.

[maillotpois]

So how do I get from Marin to Oakland? Any suggestions? Maybe I should search out that Richmond BART station?

[ace]

Don't know if you're aware of the www.511.org website. It's a warehouse for bay area regional transport. Use the trip planner function to see your options for getting from Marin to Oakland:

http://transit.511.org/tripplanner/index.asp

Hope that helps!

[maillotpois]

Thanks!

[Veronica]

Work from home. :)

V.

[bikerz]

MP - I think you could take the Ferry to SF from Larkspur, then Bart into Oakland, or a second ferry from SF to Jack London Square - the nice thing about the ferry is that you can work very easily if you need to.

I usually take the Transbay Bus over to SF from Oakland, but I think the detours over into Emeryville to get on the bridge are going to make that a pretty long and unpleasant ride in both directions (the overpass that melted is the one my bus usually takes). I'll be on Bart for sure this week, and already printed out daily reserved parking permits for 4 days this week, since I'm afraid the parking at my local Bart station (Rockridge) will probably fill up much earlier than usual.

What an amazing thing, and so fortunate no one was hurt but the driver, and even he doesn't seem to have been as seriously injured as he could have been. But traffic is going to be a mess for a long while.

[maillotpois]

Yeah, I'll be working from home a lot more. Unfortunately I have a mediation in my office tomorrow. I am going to try BART from Richmond and also from SF (ride in to SF with Mike and BART over.)

I'm sorry, but that truck driver was speeding and was the sole cause of the crash. I am glad he is not dead, but honestly I hope he ends up in jail. His employer might as well call a bankruptcy firm right now because damages are going to be HUGE.

[ace]

Hey Ann,

I'm having trouble figuring out where the melted spot is. My transbay bus (the C) gets on the freeway right across from where we usually start our Bay Trail ride in Emeryville. That on-ramp leads to a bus-only on-ramp to the bridge. Do you think that section is going to be effected?

[whippetgirl]

My daughter and I were at the Emeryville IKEA today. You could see right at the area that burned. Truly incredible, the road looks like it "melted".
It is right across from the IKEA parking lot. It is a miracle that noone other than the driver was hurt.

[ace]

Here's a diagram of the exact roadways that are effected. I think my commute in will be fine. I'll BART on the way home...

http://www.insidebayarea.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=1509331

[Trek420]

Commuting is going to be painful. Trek, I think you live in Hayward? Is there an AC Transit bus you can take that circumvents the maze? I think most/all the transbay AC Transit buses let you load bikes onto the front rack. I take the Transbay bus to work, and I think it will be ok- it goes via surface streets to Emeryville, then cuts onto the bridge via a bus lane.

www.actransit.org

Glad you're ok, maillotpois! Thank god no one was hurt.

Ace and all, I take BART to work almost each day. That will stay the same, stay tuned as I report if I can fit my bike on the train.

[jobob]

I wouldn't count on it. I've seen BART refuse to let bikes on trains when it's really crowded.

[SadieKate]

They even post the no bike policy during heavy commute hours on their website.

[crazycanuck]

:eek: Holy sheep kapoops batman! :eek:

This was on the news here tonight & can see how the driver's just caused a sheep load of chaos!

I hope you SF/Oakland area ladies can find alternative routes to work.

C

[Trek420]

I wouldn't count on it. I've seen BART refuse to let bikes on trains when it's really crowded.

And I've seen cyclists barge on in anyway...but then if your bike is your transportation what are you going to do? Wait 30-40 minutes till the crowd this out?

Which is my calendar has the A's schedule on it so I try to ride to work when they don't have a game that starts or ends when I leave. Or...just figure out the best route from downtown Oakland to home. Not a whole lot of good choices there, it's between climbing OTR:eek: or going through some pretty hairy neighborhoods so I ride 2-3 miles to tkae BART the bulk of the 20.

Hmmmm, might be cool to figure the route home for a just in case scenario.

[jobob]

Your choice. Good luck.

[snapdragen]

Watching the commute this morning - dang folks listened! The Bay Bridge toll plaza looked abandoned! Tonight's commute will be interesting as people leave San Francisco.

[bikerz]

MP, you're absolutely right - that guy should be in jail, and I'm sure his employers are deeply worried right now!

[ace]

Just commuted in with my usual AC Transit Transbay bus. Public transportation is apparently free today (yeah, but what about tomorrow??). We whizzed over the bridge- people did indeed decide not to drive in. It's getting back to Oakland from SF that is going to be the mess.

You might want to check on AC Transit, Trek. There are always bikes on the front of the buses I take- they're routes are pretty extensive:

www.actransit.org

Good luck everybody.

[maillotpois]

The freeway/Richmond bridge from Marin to Richmod was deserted. Not the usual backup going from Richmond to Marin at all. I BART-ed in. The train was VERY crowded. I got engorssed and missed my stop and jumped out of BART at 12th street as the doors were closing and fell. Rookie mistake. :rolleyes: Got to work just fine and didn't even run my stockings!

[snapdragen]

Got to work just fine and didn't even run my stockings!

A commuter pro! :cool:

[melissam]

MP, you're absolutely right - that guy should be in jail, and I'm sure his employers are deeply worried right now!

Oh boy, the plot thickens: it looks like the driver was involved in two previous hit & run accidents. He's also done jail time previously for drugs (possession & intent to sell), as well as committing burglaries.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_5786459

Meanwhile, I hope everyone's enjoying their free public transit today. I can tell you firsthand that Amtrak did NOT qualify as one of the free public transit options. Oh well, plenty of spots left on my 10-ride ticket.

[cindysue]

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_5786459


if you aren't interested in reading the full article, I think it should be mentioned that his last conviction was nearly 10 years ago and the police don't think drugs or alcohol were involved....

Granted he was driving a gasoline tanker, but many of us can be accused of speeding (and some with children in the car).

Not condoning - just pointing out additional information

[maillotpois]

Well, BART was jammed tonight at 6 when I finally left work - with a huge box on a cart, so that was a lot of fun.

Eerie when we surfaced - we couldn't see the freeway collapse but we could see 3 - 4 helicopters hovering over the site.

[maillotpois]

Okay, well I just read the link to the article about the driver and as mad as I am/was, it's actually sad. He had turned his life around and was a pretty good guy. One HUGE mistake, though, and it's all over for him. I'm sure he won't be able to get a good job again, etc.

[maillotpois]

I love CalTrans. I really do!

I just drove to work (Marin to Oakland) for the first time in over a week (actually, although it is my normal commute, the last time I drove on that stretch of freeway was the morning of DMD). They opened the 880 connector so there was no backup at all going 80 to EB 580 to get to Harrison St. It was great!!!

That doesn't mean I am happy about being at work, of course. :cool: