A stretch of I-75 was expected to be shut down indefinitely after a gasoline tanker exploded Wednesday night near 9 Mile, causing the overpass on the northbound side to collapse.
Thick black smoke billowed from the scene and flames shot up 150 to 200 feet, snarling traffic on both sides. Authorities advised the thousands of commuters heading for work this morning to look for alternative routes.
That section of I-75 — from 8 Mile to I-696 — carries an average of more than 160,000 vehicles a day, according to state traffic counts.
The tanker overturned apparently after colliding with a tractor-trailer. It was not immediately clear how many vehicles were involved. The tanker driver appeared to have survived.
Lt. Shannon Sims of the Michigan State Police post in Oak Park confirmed that the fire and heat from the tanker blast had caused the 9 Mile overpass above northbound I-75 to collapse.
“Until they get that fire out, it's going to be hard for us to get in there and determine what happened,” Sims said.
Samantha Kaca and stepfather Jeff Waller walked from their home to the scene. “It was a total burnout,” he said.
Thick smoke, giant flames keep police from accident
It was unlike anything they had ever seen.
Stuck in traffic when I-75 was shut down Wednesday night after a massive tanker explosion, drivers had no choice but to watch the aftermath unfold.
They described thick black smoke filling the sky, dancing flames and an overpass that crashed down onto the highway.
And today motorists will be directed toward alternate routes that include the Lodge Freeway and surface streets including Woodward, Dequindre, John R and other nearby north-south routes. It also could push additional traffic onto I-94 in Detroit and the east-side suburbs.
But those who were in traffic or watching nearby Wednesday night were so mesmerized police had to force them back for safety.
Dorothy Mirasolo lives in Hazel Park, less than a half mile northwest of the explosion.
“I heard an explosion. I was like, ‘What the heck is that?' At first I thought it was a car hitting a car. Then it sounded like shotguns going off and it was very close.”
She said explosions kept happening over the course of five minutes.
She, along with hundreds of others, went on the pedestrian bridge, about a quarter mile north of the accident site to get a bird's-eye view of the happenings.
It was there that she noticed the bridge had collapsed.
“To me, when I first got there, it looked like it was OK. All of a sudden I noticed it was down. There was so much smoke you couldn't see it very well.”
Sims confirmed it appeared the heat from the tanker blast and fire led the 9 Mile overpass above northbound I-75 to collapse.
Mirasolo said police forced her and others to move away as a safety precaution.
Kevin Dwight, 41, of Ferndale said his pastor smelled smoke and sent parishioners outside to see where it was coming from.
“We saw thick black smoke in the middle of 9 Mile from under the bridge on 75,” said Dwight, who attends the Solid Rock Church.
State police on the scene and asked people to return to their homes.
Witnesses say flames and black, billowing plumes of smoke were reaching 150 to 200 feet into the air and gas that reached the sewers along the freeway also caught fire.
Police ordered onlookers gathered along the top of the embankments along the crash site to move back to avoid exposure to toxic smoke.
An estimated 2,000 DTE Energy customers were without power because of blown circuits, Lorie Kessler, a spokeswoman for the utility company, said Wednesday night.
A firefighter answering the phone at the Hazel Park Fire Department said a power outage apparently related to the crash and fire had the station operating on generators, which was hampering communications but not the battle to contain the flames.
The Michigan Department of Transportation said both ramps from both directions of I-696 to southbound I-75 were closed. It appeared traffic was being diverted off I-75 at I-696 and 8 Mile.
“Thankfully this didn't happen during rush-hour traffic,” Sims said.
It wasn't clear when either direction of I-75 would reopen. If the damage is extensive enough to extend repairs for days or more, it will make for an enormous traffic mess. That section of I-75 carries an average of more than 160,000 vehicles a day, according to state traffic counts.
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Great video.The flu and its amplifications will take care of another way of transport, on foot.
ReplyDeleteThe people will be so afraid to even move out of their houses.The the propaganda will hit.They will lost any contact with reality(other people) and will be more vurnerable to induction.
Too crazy...check this AMP on the economic times from June 14th, 2009 called Terror on the Thames. I could not cut and past the link for some reason. Just google Terror on the Thames.
ReplyDeleteTheres a lot of bridges in the world and one falls down almost every day, except in the UK where we actually maintain our bridges with engineers who can be bothered to do their job properly instead of stuffing their faces with cheap junk food.
ReplyDelete