Woke up last Wednesday to the news that a fuel tanker had crashed at the Bourne Rotary and the bridge was closed. About 5,000 gallons spilled out (out of about 11,000 gallons), soaking through the soil and getting down the storm drains. A small slick appeared in the Canal.
It had happened around 11:30 on Tuesday night and the Bridge remained closed till about 9:30 am on Wed. Traffic on the other side was at a complete standstill as there was only one bridge to accommodate rush hour traffic and everyone was being detoured and trying to use it.
Apparently the driver failed to notice that there was a rotary at the end of the bridge. I'm not quite sure how that can be. It's a huge mound with 'Cape Cod' written in shrubbery, and still glowing white with snow. Plus the speed limit coming down that side reduces to about 30, so he must've been flying. A witness said that he tried to turn right at the last second but it was too late. He smashed into the curb and the truck rolled. He was able to get out and was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Hazmat was called, fire retardant foam was sprayed, fire departments from four towns showed up. I can't believe the truck didn't explode. That was a bit of luck anyway. Web image
All I can think is that he'd either never been here before, or got it confused with the Sagamore Bridge, because the Mid-Cape Highway is on the other side. It's a smooth ride downhill off the bridge and onto a highway. Web image
I saw the stories on my newsfeed when I got up at 7:00 am. News reports said that the Bridge wouldn't reopen till about 8. I decided that this was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the bridge completely devoid of cars. So I jumped in the car and headed up to an area where there's Bridge access along the curb...it's actually an old bridge approach from the 70s before they built Highway 25.
This is looking down 25 where normally there would be tons of cars and trucks headed over, but they were all detoured into Buzzards Bay and Wareham.
This is looking down 25 where normally there would be tons of cars and trucks headed over, but they were all detoured into Buzzards Bay and Wareham.
Wow. Not a single vehicle. How often does this happen during the day? Almost never.
Then I drove over to the park at the Railroad Bridge to get a full-on shot of the empty bridge.
Then of course I had to get a couple more pictures...since I was there and all.
The environmental cost and pricetag to clean it up is going to be really bad. The Canal should be fine; I'm sure it sees way more fuel sheens from the marine traffic. Containment booms were deployed but it dissipated in the sun fairly quickly. But the soil and the rotary area are contaminated and must be dug out. This is going to take at least two weeks, which means a traffic nightmare for the region as the rotary is now down to one lane. As for the driver, I can only imagine that he must feel pretty mortified that he caused this. He is facing DOT fines, probably the loss of his job and CDL, as apparently he didn't have the best driving record to begin with. I saw that his company is going to be responsible for the cost of cleanup. A very costly mistake indeed.
