Our Interstate Bridge Fell in the RIVER.

[Kestrel]

Really.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/C...208760201.html

It was a miracle no one was critically hurt or killed.

The result is: about 75,000 cars a day; dumped into my small town. And probably will be, for the next few months, at least. The traffic is so bad, you can't imagine. And on top of all this, (in general) the homes are on one side of the river, and the businesses and shopping are on the other. We're out of milk, bread, produce, and diapers, and I dread having to deal with the mess, and on a holiday weekend, too! I can't decide weather to try to go shopping early in the morning and hope, or drive the other (away from the river) direction an hour or so to the shopping centers in the other direction.

Whatever: it's gonna suck. And will continue to suck for the foreseeable future.

[crl]

So glad no one died.

Sounds horrible.

Time for an Amazon prime membership and a neighborhood cooperative/turn taking plan for grocery shopping!

Catherine

[BunnyBee]

It is amazing everyone was ok.

That sounds like a complete PITA for your town. Hope the reconstruction proceeds quickly!

[Philly Mom]

My brother lives nearby and was on the bridge twice earlier that day. So scary.

[lalasmama]

My sister was crossing the bridge a few days before on Greyhound. She's pretty shook up. What a pain in the butt for the people who use the bridge daily!... And the annoyance of having to drive seriously out of the way for basic necessities!

On the flip side, can I b!tch about the fact the bridge was deemed unsafe at the last inspection, *and* the vehicle that caused the collapse was over the weight limit allowed on the bridge (according to early news reports).... Seems like it would have been so easy to avoid this happening!

[larig]

My brother lives nearby and was on the bridge twice earlier that day. So scary.

Our BFFs had crossed an hour before on their way from Seattle to the San Juans. They'll have a horrible time getting home, I'm sure.

OP, sorry you're life is going to be complicated by this for the foreseeable future!

[ellies mom]

I couldn't believe no one died either. I'm not familiar with the area but on the map I saw, it looked like there was a surface street bridge somewhat near by. Is that going to be the "detour route" What a huge big mess that is going to be.

[Tea4two]

I saw this on the news today. So sorry you will be dealing with the impact of it. Really is a miracle more were not hurt/killed.

[Kestrel]

So far, it appears that an over-height truck struck the overhead bridge supports. Everyone is pointing the finger at everyone else, of course....

- the trucking company had permits for the route, even though the height on the permit was a foot taller than the low point of the bridge. (Higher clearance in the center of the bridge, sloping to the sides.) Blame the DOT?

- The pilot car (lead vehicle with a height wand) was not far enough ahead; the truck didn't have enough time to stop from freeway speed in the distance it had. Blame the pilot company?

- The truck driver should have realized that the pilot car wasn't far enough ahead. Blame the driver?

It's going to be a mess to figure out. And of course, no one wants to pay for the repairs... early estimates are $16 Million.

[Kestrel]

GRRRRRR....

What is usually a 12-min trip took over two hours to get back from the grocery store! Thank goodness I thought to bring a cooler to pack into.

And they're telling us now, it's going to get worse.