Birmingham's Malfunction Junctions
The interstate system was built beginning back in the late 50's and it continues to expand. The traffic volume is not what it was back in the 60's, 70's or even 80's, it too, is increasing in geometric progression making interstate travel a case of 'hurry up and wait'. The on and off ramps are not long enough now and when traffic backs up, the cars may still be on one of the turn/through lanes, making defensive driving and knowledge of the system a must.
The area has grown so now, it is now into not just Jefferson Country but the surrounding counties of Shelby, Bibb, and Tuscaloosa. Birmingham is the hub in the center of the state and it is impossible to avoid some I59, I65, I459, and I20 that all come together somewhere in the larger Birmingham hub. I459 is the only interstate that does not go through Birmingham but was designed to circle Birmingham taking the through traffic especially the 18 wheelers out of the downtown junctions. This has worked to a some degree, but the traffic volume including the number of trucks have increased making I459 almost as busy as the inter-city systems.
The trucking industy is going under close scrutity right now as within 2 years we have endured some terrible fiery crashes where tankers hauling gas or diesel fuel have crashed under the junction in downtown Birmingham. The first one was two years ago and according to witnesses, the driver swerved to avoid hitting a driver crossing in front of him to make a turn onto I20N and the tanker hit a bridge abutment, killing the driver, and 9,000 gallons of gasoline burned down the 'concrete and steel' interstate ramp overhead. This was much like the trade center, the bridge overpass is designed to take anything but high heat. The burning fuel took all the temper out of the rebar steel and the concrete turned to dust. It took 4 months working 24/7 to rebuild this ramp, making travel through this part of the system a nightmare.
Now almost 2 years later, another tanker, believed to be traveling 70 mph on the off ramp, rolled a tanker full of diesel fuel and again 8,000 gallons burned down the overhead section of I59/I20N and the I65N ramp off of I20N. This has just been completed now finishing some 6 weeks before projections and before cold weather set in which would slow the tempering of the concrete very, very slow. We are fortunate as we have steel beam producers and pre-stressed concrete manufacturer within a 25 mile radius of Birmingham. They moved these huge beams, up to 52 feet long, at night between 12 midnight and 5:00am. The loss of this overpass dealt everyday traffic a major blow in trying to move commerce and travel through this junction.
We get these two major overpasses rebuilt and I hear on the news a flatbead has rolled on one of the overpasses and dropped a 45,000 lb. driveshaft onto the I459S overpass, punching a huge hole now covered with steel plates. This crash dropped pieces of concrete down onto I65S and damaged several cars passing underneath. Luckily no one was killed in this accident.
Now the State of Alabama and Governor Riley is stepping into the picture. They are now proposing overhauling all the regulations concerning trucks here in Alabama. They had hoped the trucking industry would do this, but after these 3 crashes, the state now feels they are not or did not act fast enough. They are looking at speed reduction, closer inspection of cargo, or how secure is it strapped to the bed, and driver re-training. This along with heavy fines and damages to be picked up by the company/carrier will hopefully cause some safer Interstates here in Alabama.
I’ve been thinking about your descriptions of the Interstates, and their various problems, off and on all afternoon. We live near the 101 (between the 1 and the 101) and take the 5 down to Los Angeles when we visit. So, first off, the numbers seem rather large back there. The problems, however, sound all too familiar. In the Los Angeles area where we originally came from, survival on the freeways seems a lot like a crap shoot. People exit in sweeping turns from the center lane, weave through traffic like the other cars are only there to provide a degree of difficulty, pass on the right, tailgate, and show a general disregard for the wellbeing of their fellow man. It takes days for us to calm down after every trip.
As more and more housing developments stretch Paso Robles eastward, we notice a sort of LA driving mentality invading the area. The main onramp at the south end of town is becoming quite dangerous. People have begun doing incredibly stupid things like passing on the onramp in what has to be an aggressive frenzy. We find ourselves in this rather quiet part of the country on heightened alert as we ease ourselves onto the southbound 101.
A tragic incident that goes back many years involved a Budweiser truck pulling onto the freeway in the San Fernando Valley. The driver lost control, overturned the truck, killed a number of people, and blocked both directions for hours. It came out that the driver was so drunk he was unable to stand under his own power. Why? There was a delay in loading his truck. Budweiser kept open taps running for the drivers. After a long delay of guzzling free beer, he managed to make it part way onto the freeway, about a mile down the road. The proposed solution was to limit the number of beers each driver could drink before hitting the road. Of course, today they have a zero tolerance, but that easygoing attitude wasn’t all that many years ago.
In general, I feel safer with a trucker next to me than a woman in an SUV talking on a cell phone, so I hope your governor appreciates the men (and yes, women) who drives the trucks as much as I do. As for the fuel trucks you mentioned that caused such terrible destruction, maybe they should be limited to night travel when fewer people are on the roads. Fewer people would be a good idea too if you could figure out a way to achieve that goal.
