
Unprecedented Teamwork Repairs Collapsed Freeway in Record Time (2007) - frosted-flakes
https://www.tradelineinc.com/reports/2007-10/unprecedented-teamwork-repairs-collapsed-freeway-record-time
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kevingadd
> Traffic was moving smoothly. There were hardly any backups. Buses, trains,
> and ferries ran at full capacity. Those who didn’t use public transit
> altered their normal routes, and stayed away from The Maze. The predicted
> gridlock failed to materialize. The “free transit day” was an unqualified
> success.

Interesting to think about how much economic value could be recovered if we
got transit utilization up to those levels on a regular basis. No magic
bullets exist, but we collectively spend a lot of money on regular commutes
and pay a lot in terms of road upkeep, climate impact, wasted time etc that
might be mitigated if we managed to set up incentives like that on an ongoing
basis.

~~~
vl
There is an easy solution: make roads pay-per-use with price based on the
utilization. This will quickly reshape cities and change public transit since
the price will be transparent to everyone. More businesses would move out
creating better, more evenly developed territories.

~~~
wtn
That would require vehicle tracking, and people in the US don't want that.
Fuel taxes only work for vehicles that use internal combustion engines. A tire
tax is a possible vehicle-neutral option.

~~~
xzzx77
A tire tax would incentivize people to drive on worn tires longer.

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buss
1 month to repair a freeway for single-occupancy cars. Over twenty years to
make a single lane of Geary Blvd buses-only (and still not done!)

We have the ability to do things quickly, but our government made it illegal
unless there's an emergency.

~~~
Anechoic
These aren't the same situation. One is restoring a piece of infrastructure to
it's original working condition, the other is making a substantial change in
infrastructure that requires due diligence. The latter can certainly be more
efficient, but it will never be (and shouldn't be) done in a month.

~~~
forwhomst
Actually, hours after this trucker blew up the freeway, caltrans was on the
streets of oakland grinding up a bike lane to make an extra lane for cars, no
public input required. “Diligence” is how they delay green transportation
projects only.

~~~
Anechoic
_caltrans was on the streets of oakland grinding up a bike lane to make an
extra lane for cars,_

If this was related to the fire, and temporary, it doesn't need a review. If
it was permanent and done without review, I'd like to see a reference to this.

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stevep98
C.C. Myers also rebuilt I-10 after the 1994 Northridge quake. 74 days early!

[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-
xpm-1994-04-06-mn-42778-...](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-
xpm-1994-04-06-mn-42778-story.html)

~~~
amacbride
Their work on the Bay Bridge replacement structure was also amazing.

[https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2007/09/04/c-c-myers-gets-
prais...](https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2007/09/04/c-c-myers-gets-praise-for-
beating-deadline-again/)

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SideburnsOfDoom
Weird headline syntax.

I read it as "Unprecedented 'Teamwork Repairs' Collapsed the Freeway in Record
Time"

until I got into the article and realised that it had to be "Unprecedented
Teamwork, Repairs to the 'Collapsed Freeway' happen in Record Time"

~~~
oxide
Absolutely, I read it the same way. I was asking myself what a 'teamwork
repair' was and how it collapsed a freeway, in record time no less.

~~~
SideburnsOfDoom
A "teamwork repair" is when you fix your teamwork, obviously. The fast that it
collapsed a freeway is remarkable, so that must be why it's newsworthy.

The original headline is word salad.

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camel_gopher
C.C. Meyers does not mess around

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atlgator
Atlanta had a similar story in 2017.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_85_bridge_collapse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_85_bridge_collapse)

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cypherpunks01
This is a really great story! The only upsetting thing is that they didn't
revisit the bonus amount at the end, so I had to do the math:

(50 days - (May 24 - May 8)) * $200,000 = $6,800,000

So it definitely seems like they maxed out the $5m bonus! Nice!

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robbrown451
It was quite impressive.

And BTW, it talks about a horrific accident, but it should be noted that the
only injuries were to a truck and a bridge.

~~~
sm4rk0
From CBS News[1]:

Flames shot 200 feet in the air and the heat was intense enough to melt part
of the freeway and cause the collapse, but the truck's driver walked away from
the scene with second-degree burns. No other injuries were reported.

"I've never seen anything like it," Officer Trent Cross of the California
Highway Patrol said of the crumpled interchange. "I'm looking at this
thinking, 'Wow, no one died — that's amazing. It's just very fortunate."

1: [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tanker-fire-causes-ca-
highway-c...](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tanker-fire-causes-ca-highway-
collapse/)

~~~
robbrown451
Ahh ok. I remembered that he walked away, I guess he did get some burns.

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nealabq
I remember that day. I was on my way from up north to catch a flight from
Oakland that morning.

