Thank you all for all the sage words of caution; they do not go unheeded, I assure you.
As I predicted (in a PM to MadMike), today was a cake walk. Of course the commute into San Francisco was not affected by the lost infrastructure, so you combine that with a lot of people taking the day off because of commuter-hell forecasts, and the ride in was like a Sunday morning.
I did get to go right by the collapsed structure to my left (I had never even noticed before that the fly-over was right there), and I was able to slow down and gawk a bit since there were (really) no cars around me or coming up on me. It was VERY impressive looking, just a massive, black-charred hunk of concrete and steel dropping off at an eerie angle. I hadn't seen structural damage that ominous looking since walking Ground Zero several weeks after the attack.
The ride home, which as 518 notes IS impacted, was also a piece of cake: I actually made it home in less time than usual (and no I wasn't speeding--much
).
The detours for me on my way home (and everyone else heading toward where I live in the Bay Area) are through downtown Oakland. And it's a part of Oakland that is run-down and industrial, with LOTS of huge semi-trucks and plenty of folks hanging out on corners drinking out of paper bags. I felt paranoid and vulnerable, wondering, "Where in the hell are they [trucks, drug dealers, lost cagers....] gonna get me from?!" :blink: Thank goodness at least it's daylight savings time!
I spent an hour this afternoon at work messing with Google maps to find several alternatives to the Caltrans-recommended one, since I naturally want to avoid all the cars. And I did find some good alternatives to the Caltrans detour (I think learning to drive in L.A. helped, where everyone has their secret preferred "shortcut"). Today was a good day to discover the best route(s) for myself, since it was very light traffic and I could get space around me while learning the way. But tomorrow and following will tell what it's really gonna be like.
I will re-post when the true commuter hell materializes.
Jb
