AP

AP I-580 overpass near San Francisco collapsed from 3,000° F heat.

Two days after a 3,000° F fire from the crash of a tanker truck hauling 8,600 gallons of gasoline caused the collapse of a major San Francisco-area transportation artery, the Oakland office of Cleveland Wrecking Co. completed debris removal. But the effects of the April 29 fire will be felt by commuters for months.

The “MacArthur Maze” in Emeryville, Calif., an approach to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, is closed while the California Dept. of Transportation assesses the damage. The first priority is testing the viability of the westbound I-80 connector to southbound I-880, which is the elevated roadway underneath the damaged I-580 overpass. If the roadway needs shoring up versus replacement, it could be open “soon,” Caltrans says.

The I-580 overpass is another story. The two damaged spans each measure 82 ft in length. The gasoline fire melted the steel and buckled the concrete overpass. The 50-year-old structure was seismical-

ly upgraded in the 1990s, Caltrans says. “While this is a tragic occurrence, it is fortunate that this will not impact all commuters who travel through the maze,” says Will Kempton, Caltrans director. “Still, there is an approximate combined total of 80,000 vehicles that go through those two ramps on an average annual daily basis, and we do expect delays on other freeways.”

The state of California has applied for reimbursement from the Federal Highway Administration for repairs that Kempton says will be in the “tens of millions of dollars.” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has declared a state of emergency, which will streamline public contracting and environmental codes and provide emergency funding. Caltrans has already hired American Civil Constructors West Coast Inc., Benicia, Calif., to rebuild the I-580 connector.

Bob Haas, spokesperson for  Caltrans’ emergency response center, says ordering steel for the repair may be a problem. Caltrans is considering taking steel from other highway construction sites. Even emergency orders of steel could take more than eight weeks, he says.