Thursday, August 22, 2013

13 DAYS LATER... IT'S FINALLY GONE.

It's gone.  Sometime early Wednesday morning, the enormous rig disappeared toward the Port of Tecate, and thence to an undisclosed Mexican oilfield.  For the 13 days it had been stranded at SR-94 and Marron Valley Road after causing havoc for backcountry drivers and normal-sized transport trucks when it broke down just east of the Dulzura CDF Station.
20 feet wide, 231 feet long, 400,000 lbs.  A gas compressor bound for a Mexican oilfield choked and closed SR-94 54 on August 7-8-9.  The CHP has not responded to requests for information on why they approved this route on a narrow, winding two-lane road that is a critical artery for backcountry safety and transportation. (Click for enlarged image)
This time a sign was posted at SR-188 warning drivers to take an alternate route. Unfortunately, no one took the sign down, so morning drivers took the 60-mile "Alternate Route" via Buckmann Springs and I-8.

And like the last fiasco, there was no notice of road closure posted that day by the CHP.  They posted warnings for 10 other road closures that day... but none for this.  Guess the "Deciders" knew there wouldn't be a wildfire, medical emergency, or anyone that would be too inconvenienced.

CHP has a website for all this information. But crashes and closures along the 94 are sketchy at best, and don't get archived.  They just disappear as though nothing every happened.

If any other major route in San Diego being choked off for 54 hours (as this truck did on August 7-8-9), would have been more concern to those cut off from firefighters, ambulance, jobs and school?
"Alternate Routes" [in grey] for a closed SR-94. These can add an extra 90 miles (2 hours) to a drive.