Early this morning, a gasoline tanker truck crashed and exploded on the Oakland side of the Bay Bridge. The resulting fire collapsed the freeway and closed two interstates.
And I couldn’t help but think: first, that whole tanker full of gas burned up at a time when the Bay Area is seeing prices of about $3.60 per gallon.
But second, I started to stress about the strength of freeway flyovers. A crashed truck, albeit loaded with gas, managed to melt the steel supports within the concrete and collapse a huge freeway bridge. It is a bit scary to think that fire can bring down huge concrete and steel structures; witness the World Trade Center.
Coincidentally, one of my personal phobias — one that intensified after September 11 — is being under things like freeway flyovers. For instance, if I am stuck in traffic and come up to a flyover bridge, I will generally wait just outside the underpass until traffic allows me to move all the way through. I try to avoid stopping underneath one.
I really hate driving over them as well; there are more flyovers here in the Bay Area than there are back home in DC (although the new Springfield Interchange is towering and terrifying, I successfully avoided it for the last year or so that I lived there) but I stick to surface streets and avoid the freeways.
One truck crash brought down two major interstates. What happens in the next earthquake, I wonder?
I thought I was the only person that didn’t like to stop under an over pass at a red light and wait for a green green to drive through. Thanks for making me feel normal.
It’s 4.39/gallon for premium at a Shell station on Harrison in SF… I’m sure it’ll be 4.50 once they get a chance to blame the tanker accident. 🙁