By Sandra Gonzales
San Jose Mercury News
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Highway 101 in Redwood City was partially shut down for a second day Wednesday as Caltrans dealt with the aftermath of a tanker truck crash that spilled more than 2,000 gallons of gasoline onto the roadway, causing several lanes to disintegrate.
Although Caltrans repaved a stretch of three northbound lanes Tuesday night, there were concerns that using a pavement grinder on the remaining lanes could spark a fire or explosion because there was a higher concentration of gasoline on that portion of the road.
So Caltrans workers broke up the pavement, allowing the gasoline to dissipate with plans to repave it Wednesday night through early today so the roadway would be open for the morning commute at 5 a.m.
“This is such a unique situation because there was such a large amount of gasoline concentrated in that area,” said Caltrans spokeswoman Lauren Wonder. While the rubberized concrete asphalt adds to the longevity of the highway, it also makes it more prone to potential fires or explosions, Wonder said.
Though most of the gasoline was concentrated on the northbound lanes between Whipple Avenue and Woodside Road, the southbound lanes also were closed Tuesday, with one lane remaining shut Wednesday night as a precaution. Officials feared that the fuel that had drained into the pipes under the freeway might cause an explosion.
“Our No. 1 priority is safety,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Grace Castillo.
The Highway 101 mess began at
about 1:50 p.m. Tuesday near the Maple Street overpass when a minivan struck a tanker truck, causing its rear trailer to overturn and spill about 2,400 gallons of fuel across the northbound lanes. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
The last time a wreck shut down a major thoroughfare happened when a tanker truck crashed in Oakland on the MacArthur Maze, damaging the ramp and destroying the Interstate 880 connector above it.
Although Tuesday’s crash was not on the same scale, it still was a nightmare for commuters.
“I hope Tuesday’s events show just how important the 101 corridor is to the Bay Area, as sometimes it feels like it’s neglected by many,” said Kevin J. Cunningham of Foster City in an e-mail to the Mercury News. “The backups in every direction on city streets were horrendous, even as far away as San Mateo and Burlingame.”
Copyright 2008 San Jose Mercury News