Tanker Explosion Causes Bay Bridge Maze Collapse
Two connector ramps of the Bay Bridge MacArthur Maze (map),
located near Emeryville, collapsed Sunday morning after an explosion and fire.
Heat from the fire, which reached temperatures estimated at up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit,
caused the metal bolts and girders on the highway connector ramp above to melt.
The overpass then gave way and collapsed.
The tanker truck driver was driving from westbound Interstate 80 to southbound Interstate 880.
Drivers most affected by the collapse are those trying to get from Emeryville
to Oakland and those trying to get from San Francisco to Highway 24 in the East Bay,
according to NBC11's Mike Inouye.
Drivers heading into the city of San Francisco will not be affected by the collapse.
Click on "Alternate Routes" link in the right hand corner to see how to get around the collapse.
Although it's too soon to know how much it will cost to repair the roadway,
Director of Caltrans Will Kempton said, "It's not going to be cheap."
Caltrans hired a demolition contractor. That demolition work started late Sunday afternoon.
Once the debris is removed, assessment crews will be able to determine the extent of damage
to the lower roadway, Kempton said.
Both ramps are closed indefinitely, according to Caltrans spokeswoman Lauren Wonder.
"I'm not going to speculate on a time frame," Kempton said.
An estimated 30,000 to 35,000 cars travel on each of the two ramps each day, Kempton said.
Caltrans has also issued an emergency proclamation, Kempton said.
The proclamation activates emergency provisions,
such as special purchasing and contracting powers,
and is a prerequisite for requesting a proclamation of a state of emergency
from the governor's office,
according to the state Office of Emergency Services.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger toured the collapse Sunday evening.
NBC11 talked to a witness of the fire.
Paul Kochli said he was driving from San Francisco to Napa at around 4 a.m.
when he noticed a huge plume of smoke and a mushroom cloud.
Kochli said he recorded 59 seconds of the fire.
He said the overpass had already collapsed by 4:05 a.m.
Other witnesses reported flames from the blaze reached up to 200 feet high.
The driver of the tanker is the only person reported to be hurt.
He suffered second-degree burns to his hands, arms and face.
A fire official told NBC11 that the driver walked to a nearby gas station
and took a cab to a local hospital.
California Highway Patrol officer Trenton Cross said he believed speed was a factor in the crash.
Cross said he lost control and overturned.
He's been identified as 51-year-old James Mosqueda, from Woodland.
NBC11's Jodi Hernandez Talks To Driver's Family
The tanker was under the overpass.
Chopper11 showed at least two sections of the maze had collapsed, about 250 yards long.
The tanker was filled with 8,600 gallons of unleaded gasoline.
Walter Colby
The collapose is sure to cause the worst disruption for Bay Area commuters
since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged a section of the Bay Bridge itself.
Many who saw the scene were quick to compare it to the Cypress Freeway collapse
during the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989.
Traffic continues to flow onto the Bay Bridge from the East Bay.
Late Sunday morning, the charred section of collapsed freeway was draped at
a sharp angle onto the highway beneath,
exposing a web of twisted metal beneath the concrete.
"I've never seen anything like it,"
Officer Trent Cross of the California Highway Patrol said of the crumpled interchange.
"I'm looking at this thinking, 'Wow, no one died -- that's amazing.
It's just very fortunate."
It could be weeks, if not months, before traffic resumes as usual on the stretch of road,
according to a spokesman for CalTrans.
Monday morning commuters will face a huge traffic mess.
BART is a good alternative, according to Inouye,
as are the Bay Area's ferry systems.
BART announced early Sunday morning it will add additional trains for the Monday morning commute.
NBC11's Mike Inouye Give Commute Alternates
CalTrans is encouraging who use the overpasses to work from home if possible.
Mercury News
The Bay Bridge consists of two heavily traveled,
double-decked bridges about two miles long straddling San Francisco Bay.
State transportation officials said 280,000 commuters
take the bridge into San Francisco each day.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said the accident showed
how fragile the Bay area's transportation network is,
whether to an earthquake or terrorist attack,
and has the potential to have a major economic effect on the city.
"It's another giant wakeup call,"
Newsom told reporters at the California Democratic Party convention in San Diego.
ALTERNATE ROUTES
Following the collapse of a section of highway in Oakland's MacArthur Maze,
California Highway Patrol officials have recommended several alternate routes
for drivers traveling to locations throughout the Bay Area.
NBC11's Mike Inouye Explains Which Commutes Are Affected
# For drivers going from San Francisco to Walnut Creek (Highway 24):
after the Bay Bridge, exit eastbound Interstate Highway 80 at West Grand Avenue,
take a left on Northgate Avenue, then enter the on-ramp to eastbound
Interstate Highway 580 towards state Highway 24,
and take eastbound state Highway 24 to Interstate Highway 680.
The loss of this connector ramp is the one that will effect the most commuters
because it forces drivers on to surface streets.
# For drivers going from Richmond to San Jose:
take westbound Interstate Highway 80 to eastbound Interstate Highway 580,
then take westbound Interstate Highway 980 to southbound Interstate Highway 880.
# For drivers traveling from San Francisco to Hayward,
take eastbound Interstate Highway 80 over the Bay Bridge
to southbound Interstate Highway 880.
Other alternate routes from San Francisco to parts of the East Bay are recommended:
# Take southbound U.S. Highway 101 to the eastbound San Mateo Bridge (state Highway 92)
to Interstate Highway 880 north or south.
# Take southbound U.S. Highway 101 to the eastbound Dumbarton Bridge (state Highway 84)
to Interstate Highway 880 north or south.
# Take northbound U.S. Highway 101 over the Golden Gate Bridge
to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge on eastbound Interstate Highway 580.
# Take eastbound Interstate Highway 80 and
exit the Albany/Buchanan off-ramp, turn left under the freeway,
left onto westbound Interstate Highway 80,
and follow to eastbound Interstate Highway 580.
# OTHER CONNECTIONS: Going from Richmond to San Francisco,
drivers can take westbound Interstate Highway 880 to the Bay Bridge without any detours.
# Going from San Francisco to Sacramento,
drivers can take eastbound Interstate Highway 880 to
Sacramento without any detours.
BART Extends Service
Bay Area Rapid Transit officials will be extending service Monday to try to
accommodate commuters between San Francisco and the East Bay, following the collapse.
BART will run trains with more cars than normal all day Monday,
and will extend its rush hour service both 45 minutes earlier and 45 minutes later,
according to BART spokesman Jim Allison.
"We anticipate the peak periods will be quite busy," Allison said.
BART officials will monitor ridership Monday in order to make
day-to-day service decisions this week, Allison said.
As parking at many BART stations is in high demand,
Allison urged commuters to carpool or take the bus to BART stations and
to arrive early or leave for work a little later, if possible.
Copyright 2007 by NBC11.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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当地4月29日（日）の早朝に、サンフランシスコとイーストベイを結ぶ
