How to get to Chattanooga in 10 hours, or, would a THOUSAND gallons be dangerous?
Yesterday morning I was mentally tripping the light fantastic and ready to hit the road....to Chattanooga. I love Chattanooga. I really like the regional Health Dept. folks down there. I was planning to spend the better parts of two days working with some of my fellow Health Department peeps and hitting this great sushi joint on W. Main street. It was a beautiful day to drive, listen to some classical music on the radio (we don't get CD players in state cars) and cruise.
Instead, it became a beautiful day to sit, and sit, and sit. I got stuck in THIS. An oil tanker got bashed by somebody enjoying cruising a little too much and a lot too fast. The tanker turned over and there was mighty spillage. Enough to close the interstate and divert traffic off of the interstate at exit 89. I made it to mile marker 84 about 10:00 and saw some brakelights, and then I saw a LOT of brakelights, and then I sat...for FOUR and 1/2 hours. I was hemmed in. The shoulder was blocked in front of me. Finally at 2:30, I made it to the exit, got back on the interstate and headed to Murfreesboro for a late lunch and went to Chattanooga via Cookeville and Sparta.
My favorite part of the story was this story from a Chattanooga TV station:
whew..only 500 gallons was hazardous...and I thought we had a real problem. I"m also glad I didn't have that extra cup of coffee before I embarked on my long-ish journey.
Instead, it became a beautiful day to sit, and sit, and sit. I got stuck in THIS. An oil tanker got bashed by somebody enjoying cruising a little too much and a lot too fast. The tanker turned over and there was mighty spillage. Enough to close the interstate and divert traffic off of the interstate at exit 89. I made it to mile marker 84 about 10:00 and saw some brakelights, and then I saw a LOT of brakelights, and then I sat...for FOUR and 1/2 hours. I was hemmed in. The shoulder was blocked in front of me. Finally at 2:30, I made it to the exit, got back on the interstate and headed to Murfreesboro for a late lunch and went to Chattanooga via Cookeville and Sparta.
My favorite part of the story was this story from a Chattanooga TV station:
Safety Department spokeswoman Julie Oaks says the accident is at mile marker 97. She says only about 500 gallons of a chemical in a compartment of the tanker is considered hazardous.
whew..only 500 gallons was hazardous...and I thought we had a real problem. I"m also glad I didn't have that extra cup of coffee before I embarked on my long-ish journey.
