Mending the Maze
in Emeryville

EDITORIAL
San Francisco Chronicle 1may2007

[photos below]

So far, so good. The Bay Area wasn't paralyzed by the fiery collapse of a key freeway interchange, at least on the first morning commute test Monday.

The real test lies in the weeks ahead. The state must pull off a quick rebuild of two damaged roadways at the MacArthur Maze. Regional transit systems must rise to the challenge of offering steady service to thousands of extra riders.

Drivers will need patience and planning to adapt to a monumental inconvenience. Also, a full inquiry into the tanker truck accident should explain how a single rig, carrying the equivalent of 600 gas-pump fill-ups, could do such damage.

As if the Bay Area needed reminding, its road system is stretched to the breaking point. A freak accident like this one — 8,600 gallons of gasoline sloshed underneath freeway columns — shows how fragile the region's steel-and-concrete backbone can be. Take out one pivot point, and the results can be disastrous.

But we've been here before. The Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 shut the Bay Bridge for a month and killed 42 when a double-decker freeway pancaked just miles from this weekend's collapse. Bay Area commuters adjusted with an array of makeshift alternatives.

The latest disaster comes with its own peculiarities. The pre-dawn accident on Sunday on a near-empty road meant there were no fatalities, thankfully. Weekday drivers and transit authorities had a day to plan for the start of the work week, one reason that Monday's drive time went relatively smoothly. But this adjustment period may not last if alternate routes are overloaded and side streets are swamped with traffic.

The accident site was a stretch of pavement built to withstand a severe earthquake. It may be worth reviewing these blueprints to see if even tougher design specifics are needed. It turns out steel and concrete can melt — as they did in the 9/11 Trade Center attacks — if fuel-fed temperatures of 3,000 degrees are torched on the wrong spots. Mindfully.org note: Be sure to see sidebar comments regarding 9/11 attacks.

Lab testing the perfect, disaster-proof freeway will take more time than the Bay Area can afford. For now, the practical need to rebuild the I-880 and I-580 sections should take precedence. Caltrans has the talent and skill to rebuild fallen roadways, but it has no room for error or delay. Steel, in short supply due to a construction boom, must be located. State leaders should watchdog this repair job, which is essential to the region's economy and everyday life.

Transit agencies also bear a special responsibility to fill the gap. Free rides and parking is a useful step, necessary even though the final bill can't be known. Trains, ferries and rail transit can all spread the burden of extra passengers.

The Bay Area got another lesson that a collective catastrophe can happen at any time. Now the job of digging out should begin without any delay.

source: 2may2007

Photos

A section of freeway that funnels traffic onto the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is shown on fire, early Sunday April 29, 2007, after a gasoline tanker truck overturned and caught fire, authorities said. Associated Press photo by Bryan Carmodi

A section of highway lies crumbled in Emeryville after a tanker carrying gasoline exploded early Sunday, April 29, 2007. The Oakland Tribune photo by Noah Berger via Associated Press

Firefighters on the scene of the freeway collapse of I-580 near the Bay Bridge. Chronicle photo by Mark Costantini

Aerial photos of the I-580/I-880 collapse caused by a tanker truck fire early Sunday, April 29, 2007. Special to the Chronicle photo by Robert Campbell

More photos at SF Chronicle . . .