I never lived in the East Bay and I can’t say that I ever found much over that-a-way that particularly spoke to me when living in the Bay Area: the suburban metropolis of Fremont, the incongruously placed W Hotel of Newark, the Sunol grade, etc. The East Bay and Oakland were these faraway places that were close to me, but not really involved in my life.
But, uh, all those people are about to face a whole new level of traffic hell come Monday 30 April 2007. Apparently a tanker fire broke key supports in the MacArthur Maze ( an insane crisscross of overpasses, highways and bridges which abuts the Bay Bridge from San Francisco and which requires navigation for all points in any direction ).
It makes me slightly embarrassed for my 0.9 mile commute.
May 1st, 2007 at 6:50 pm
This is a perfect example as to why we need a fully connected public transport system. That way, when something like this happens we can overload it with all the drivers suddenly without an overpass.
I actually had the chance to drive by the site that evening, and saw the pass. It was scary how one crash (yes, a VERY BIG crash) could take out something like that. Uh oh - now you’ll need security clearance to drive a tanker..
—Rio