CA Freeway Collapse and the World Wide Web
Several years ago in the wake of a tanker truck crash that caused a freeway collapse in the San Francisco Bay Area, Web sites began providing invaluable traffic information to commuters. According to CNET.com, the crash occurred at 3:45 a.m. in April of 2007 in Oakland, igniting 8,600 gallons of gasoline on the Interstate 80 interchange and causing a section of the I-580 overpass just east of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to collapse onto the I-880 roadway below.
Witnesses reported fireballs reaching more than 200 feet into the air and the truck driver escaped with second-degree burns, according to the story. There were also no reports of fatalities or other injuries. As most residents know, the Bay Bridge is a major traffic artery in the Bay Area, carrying about 280,000 commuters each day. While the bridge itself was not damaged, the fire was expected to cause major traffic disruptions for weeks or months to come after the incident, reports CNET.
A 3-minute video shot from a car on the interchange–known locally as the MacArthur Maze–was posted to YouTube and went viral showing the fire still burning in the early morning darkness after the freeway section collapsed, as indicated in the report. In addition, The San Francisco Chronicle posted early staff photos of the damage, and local TV channel KRON-TV gave viewers the chance to submit photos of the damage, as well as suggested alternate routes to avoid the damaged interchange. As a result, information about the accident spread relatively quickly.
At the time of the accident, commuters looking for the latest information on traffic were likely checking 511.org. The site’s information was also available via telephone by dialing 511. And who can forget the ever-growing popularity of Google maps and sigalrt.com? But how have times changed since then?
Update: The San Francisco Chronicle Web site SFGate among others (myself included) have developed blog posts with ongoing info on similar stories including safety concerns for drivers and pedestrians alike. If you are concerned about safety, one place to look in our fast paced society is the blogosphere. Comments are welcome!