Commute
Last night my drive home from work took 3 hours. The best time I've ever achieved with my commute is 15 minutes, and my average is about 45 minutes, so obviously 3 hours is intolerable.
The weather people in town have been warning of a WINTER BLAST since Tuesday. For those of you who don't live in Seattle, a "winter blast" here means the temperature gets down into the high 20's, it's really windy, and there's a possibility of the remotest kind that it might snow 1/2 an inch.
It actually did get slightly wintry yesterday, with some rain, and then the wind really picked up, so much so that they closed the 520 bridge across Lake Washington, which is how I get home. The 520 is a crappy old bridge, so crappy that they have to close it when it's windy. I guess because it will blow right off the lake? Anyway they also have to open the drawbridge to ease the pressure from the lake waves and the wind. I have never seen it open and I have always wondered what it looks like when it's open. Is it tilty like the Fremont Bridge? Does it swing out like this one bridge in Portland? Well I still don't know how it works but here's what it looks like in case you're interested:
I don't know how that could possibly work. It sorta looks like the Safeco Field roof. Does anyone know?
They ended up leaving it closed all night because a bolt broke and it was a safety issue. Please don't tell my mom about this bridge or else she'll faint at the thought of me crossing it twice daily. There was a possibility it would be closed for this morning's rush hour but it was open which is good because I hadn't preared a plan B.
Anyway I had left work at 4:30 and was in stop-and-go traffic and i inched around this curve in the road and saw a sign that said "bridge closed" and right then they said it on the radio too. I had a variety of choices. Turn back and go back to work? Go shopping and out to dinner in Bellevue? I even thought about calling up Ash and Small Fish because they live in Bellevue, but then I remembered they were out eating nachos for Ash's b-day.
Instead I just stuck it out and took I-90. I could have seen two 90-minute movies during that time, watched 4 episodes of "24" on DVD, or driven to Portland.
posted by bladio @ 3:23 PM
5 Comments:
you should have come by - we didn't leave for nachos until late - you could have helped make cupcakes!
as for 520, the bottom of this page has an explanation of the drawbridge:
http://www.phenry.org/wsh/sr520.html
"When the drawspan opens, the roadbed sections in the two wider segments of the bridge are raised, and the sections in the middle separate and roll underneath the raised sections like drawers (artist's conception, inset)."
The 520 bridge, the Alaskan Way Viaduct... Seattle is doomed. DOOOOOOO <breath> OOOOOOOOOOO <breath> OOOOOOOOMED!
Oh man! That sucks. That sounds like something that would happen in Chicago. Except instead of it being a bridge and wind, it would be like a marathon or protest that snakes around the city in such a way that it is impossible to find your way through. Or maybe just a Cubs game depending on where you are and trying to go.
That is when I would have spent some time chatting on the phone with folks--I think stop and go traffic is an okay time to use the cell phone (especially hands free). Or a good time for catching up on the news. Maybe keeping a book on tape in the car for just such a circumstance. That sucks though--were you starving?!
You totally could have come over! We didn't go out until 8:00 or 8:30. Even if we were going out earlier, we would have loved for you to come out for nachos with us! :) Next time give us a call!
Bladio, you don't have to be concerned about Mom finding out about the bridge. If it wasn't THAT, she would certainly find something else to worry about.
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