Tanker fire destroys part of MacArthur Maze
2 freeways closed near Bay Bridge
Peter Fimrite and Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Freeway Collapse
Tank fire destroys portion of MacArthur Maze
Transit officials trying to find work-arounds
NWZCHIK: Highway mayhem
Map of the freeway interchange
(04-29) 09:24 PDT OAKLAND -- The heat of a dramatic gasoline tanker fire destroyed an overpass and closed two major roadways in the MacArthur Maze at the East Bay access to the Bay Bridge early this morning.
A section of the roadway taking traffic from the Bay Bridge onto eastbound Interstate 580 fell onto the connector that brings East Bay traffic from Interstate 80 to Interstate 880 southbound toward Oakland and San Jose.
Lanes of 580 near the East Bay Municipal Utility District sewage treatment plant at the maze are draped like a blanket over the northeast edge of the freeway below with the corner tip touching the ground below that.
Traffic is being routed several different ways around the scene and tie-ups are likely to worsen as the day wears on.
"We're screwed, huh? That's going to be rough on everybody," said Joe Dorey, 55, an engineer who lives in Oakland.
The tanker, which was traveling from I-80 full of vehicle-ready gasoline, seems to have disappeared. One Caltrans worker at the scene held up his thumb and forefinger an inch apart to describe how big the tanker is now.
The driver, who got out of the truck on his own after it overturned, hailed a taxi to a nearby hospital, where he is in critical but stable condition with burns.
One section of roadway has fallen away from the main structure and another may yet fall this morning. Below the two stretches of roadway is a Caltrans property full of equipment being used to rebuild the Bay Bridge. So far this morning, traffic on all the affected roadways remains light, but major backups are expected today and for the foreseeable future.
