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Old 05-01-2007, 07:02 AM   #1
Undertoad
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May 1, 2007: Melted freeway



Via Spluch comes this sfgate.com story about a gasoline tanker's misadventure near Oakland, CA. Seems the gent was traveling a bit fast and overturned. The thing is, if you do that to a gas tanker, and the gas ignites:



It may just be hot enough to melt all the metal in the structure of an overpass.

Quote:
The single-vehicle crash occurred on the lower roadway when the tanker, loaded with 8,600 gallons of unleaded gasoline and heading from a refinery in Benicia to a gas station on Hegenberger Road in Oakland, hit a guardrail at 3:41 a.m.

Engineers said the green steel frame of the I-580 overpass and the bolts holding the frame together began to melt and bend in the intense heat -- and that movement pulled the roadbed off its supports.


The driver had enough sense to know he was hurt and hailed a taxi to get off the scene and to a hospital:
Quote:
Mosqueda, an employee of Sabek Transportation in San Francisco for 10 months, got out of the truck on his own after it overturned and hailed a taxi that took him to Kaiser Hospital in Oakland, witnesses and police said.

He has been transferred to the burn unit at St. Francis Hospital in San Francisco, where his father said he was "doing OK" this afternoon, having sustained burns on his face, neck and hands. The family expected Mosqueda to remain hospitalalized two or three more days.


It's not so bad. If you had a good four-wheel drive you could still use it.
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Old 05-01-2007, 07:04 AM   #2
Aliantha
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We've had this one on the news over here. I was amazed when I first saw the story. I thought someone had blown it up till I turned the sound up and found out it was the heat from the fire alone that'd caused all the damage.

It must have been intense.
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Old 05-01-2007, 07:34 AM   #3
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Those poor bastards will have traffic nightmares for a while with this. Glad it didn't happen in my city.
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Old 05-01-2007, 08:16 AM   #4
Ibby
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This even made page one of the Taipei newspaper.

Wow.
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Old 05-01-2007, 08:41 AM   #5
elSicomoro
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Something like this should quiet the conspiracy theorists that think the WTC towers were brought down by the government...but they'll find some way to twist it to their point of view.
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Old 05-01-2007, 08:55 AM   #6
LabRat
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W.O.W.

Would the tankers insurance company be responsible for the repair of the bridge, (assuming it was properly insured), or does the city end up having to eat the cost of the repairs?

Either way, yikes.
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Old 05-01-2007, 09:02 AM   #7
Sheldonrs
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sycamore View Post
Something like this should quiet the conspiracy theorists that think the WTC towers were brought down by the government...but they'll find some way to twist it to their point of view.
Or MAYBE this was caused by the government to make us BELIEVE that it's possible to melt that kind of steel with the flames alone.

Not that I want to start any conspiracy theories or anything. hehehe
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Old 05-01-2007, 09:25 AM   #8
piercehawkeye45
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sycamore View Post
Something like this should quiet the conspiracy theorists that think the WTC towers were brought down by the government...but they'll find some way to twist it to their point of view.
I forget what there response to it is...
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Old 05-01-2007, 09:26 AM   #9
rfoxx
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This is really their own fault for building a bridge on the cheap. Engineers have known for years that all structural steel should be encased in concrete. That protects it from fire, especially the ultra-hot kind. And it's not like this the first time a gas truck ever burned on the road. Hopefully, they'll rebuild it right this time.
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Old 05-01-2007, 09:52 AM   #10
Sheldonrs
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From www.rosie.com:

"jen writes:

Your right again! Have you seen them demo the SF bridge? Steel Beams still there and holding up most of it! Not melted rubble, concrete having to be broken up. Keep speaking out - more are joining!

CORRECT JEN "
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Old 05-01-2007, 09:57 AM   #11
CharlieG
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Paging Dr Rosie O'Donnel....
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Old 05-01-2007, 10:18 AM   #12
elSicomoro
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Sheldon, if you and your partner ever go on one of her cruises, I may have no choice but to kick your asses...but it won't be a hate crime, I assure you.
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Old 05-01-2007, 10:30 AM   #13
freshnesschronic
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Traffic nightmares? This is a day in the life of commuting to Chicago.

Actually this is extreme but yeah our traffic here sucks.
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Old 05-01-2007, 10:47 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by freshnesschronic View Post
Traffic nightmares? This is a day in the life of commuting to Chicago.
I'm sure traffic in Chicago is bad, but this happened in SF which has the second worse traffic in the country after LA. Chicago isn't even in the top five. This takes out two major highways. It's a big deal for them.
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Old 05-01-2007, 11:24 AM   #15
freshnesschronic
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Yeah my bad, I guess Cali has worse traffic.
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