Tanker Truck Explodes, Maze Collapses In Oakland

Apr. 29 - KGO (KGO) -- A section of the maze in Oakland has folded in on itself because of the intense heat from a tanker fire caused by a crash.

The accident occurred just before 4 a.m. Sunday morning on the westbound I-80 connector to southbound 880. The fire melted a large section of bridge above that connector.

As a result, the eastbound I-80 connector to eastbound 580 collapsed.

The California Highway Patrol says I-80 is open in both directions. That means you can get from San Francisco to Berkeley and back. Westbound 80 is closed to southbound 880, and eastbound 80 to eastbound 580.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement saying the state will reimburse Bay Area transit authorities for free public transit service offered for commuters on Monday.

BART is doubling the number of trains on the Dublin and Concord lines, trains will start rolling at 4 am Monday morning.

The Oakland Harbor Bay Ferry will double the number of boats in service and keep the same schedule.

AC Transit is the only agency not planning an increase in number of vehicles on line. Expect delays due to crowding on surface streets as people seek alternate routes.

S.F. transit agencies say they will have more staff on hand to help autos get on and off the Bay Bridge and on and off Muni. The real crush will be for East Bay commuters in the afternoon when the city's workers head to their homes in the East Bay - on roads that are already at capacity.

California Highway Patrol investigators believe speed was a factor in the crash, but do not believe the driver was intoxicated, CHP Officer Trenton Cross said.

According to Cross, the driver, James Mosqueda, 51, of Woodland, had just filled his tanker with about 8,600 gallons of gasoline at a local refinery before the crash.

According to Cross, Mosqueda had been driving for his trucking company for only 10 months.

Worst Commuter Disruption Since The Earthquake Of 1989

Authorities said the accident, which closed two sections of road that carry cars through Oakland and then east and south of the city, would cause the worst disruption for Bay Area commuters since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged a section of the Bay Bridge itself.

State transportation officials said it could take months to repair the damaged interchanges, and advised motorists to use public transportation into and out of San Francisco. They said that drivers who chose to take alternate routes on Monday would face nightmarish commutes.

"People are going to have to find a different way to work and back home in the evening so we are asking them to plan ahead and do their homework," said Jeff Weiss, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation. "This isn't going to be fixed in a matter of days."

Although heat from the fire was intense enough to weaken the freeway and cause the collapse, the truck's driver walked away from the scene and called a taxi, which took him to a nearby hospital with second-degree burns, Officer Trent Cross of the California Highway Patrol said.

No other injuries were reported, and officials said a major public safety disaster only was averted because the crash happened so early on a Sunday.

"I've never seen anything like it," Cross said of the 250-foot chunk of the crumpled interchange that was twisted into a mass of steel and concrete. "I'm looking at this thinking, 'Wow, no one died -- that's amazing. It's just very fortunate."

The crash occurred around 3:45 a.m. on one of a collection of interchanges on the edge of downtown Oakland about a half-mile from the Bay Bridge's toll plaza into San Francisco. Although the bridge itself was not damaged, the maze of three converging freeways delivers traffic to and from San Francisco and includes some of the Bay Area's most congested routes.

State transportation officials said that while only about 80,000 cars pass through the damaged interchanges each day, the ripple effect could inconvenience hundreds of thousands of motorists as drivers are forced to find ways around the closed routes. About 280,000 commuters take the Bay Bridge into and out of San Francisco each day.

"This will be one of the most problematic commutes in recent memory," San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, speaking to reporters at the California Democratic Party convention in San Diego.

The tanker carrying 8,600 gallons of gasoline ignited around 3:45 a.m. after crashing into a guardrail on the interchange connecting westbound lanes of Interstate 80 to southbound Interstate 880. A preliminary investigation indicates the driver may have been speeding as he navigated the curving road, Cross said.

Heat from the flames melted a second interchange from eastbound I-80 to eastbound Interstate 580 located above the first interchange, causing a 250-yard section of the roadway to collapse onto the crash scene below, according to the CHP. Witnesses reported flames from the blaze rose up to 200 feet into the air.

Late Sunday morning, the charred section of collapsed freeway was draped at a sharp angle onto the highway beneath, exposing a web of twisted metal beneath the concrete.

Newsom said the crash appeared to be an accident and that there was no evidence of foul play.

He said he had spoken to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration and said he was assured the state would fast-track repairs, much as it did after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. He did not speculate about how long it might take to replace the span but predicted massive disruption to San Francisco Bay area traffic.

Newsom also said the accident showed how vulnerable the Bay area's transportation network is, whether to an earthquake or terrorist attack. Sunday's freeway collapse has the potential to have a major economic effect on the city.v "It's another giant wakeup call," said Newsom, who was preparing to leave the convention and fly back to San Francisco.

The Associated Press and Bay City News have contributed to this report

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