Another close call and Metrolink comes through again
Commentary, November 6th, 2007
Editorial by Noel T. Braymer
On a wet Friday October 12th night we relearned how vulnerable California’s transportation system is. In a truck by-pass tunnel underneath the I-5 freeway one truck hit another truck which created a chain reaction causing several trucks to catch fire. The good news was “only” three people were killed. Working feverishly Caltrans crews were able to clean out the tunnel and shore it up so the main freeway overhead could be reopended for the Monday rush hour. The fire damaged tunnel could take months to repair. It could have been worse and the entire freeway would have been closed for months. Even so, the already often jammed freeway has lost capacity which means more trucks will have to share the freeway with cars on the steep downhill slope of the southbound lanes.
