New I-88 collapse photo and 11:30 update

What you are looking at is an aerial shot of the I-88 roadway collapse over Carrs Creek. The lanes on the right are/were for I-88 Eastbound, and the beginning of the Exit 10 (NY 7 Unadilla) offramp. I-88 Westbound lanes are on the left.

Photo taken by the AP's Jim McKnight.

You can see the remnants of the culvert in the center of the quiet stream turned rapids. The box trailer that is shown falling into the water would flow a mile downstream crashing into a bridge that carries NY 7 over the same creek.

The identites of the two truck drivers are still unknown.

The Susquehanna River is still approaching flood stage in Bainbridge, NY. The river is expected to crest at 28 feet sometime Thursday morning. Flood stage is 13'! The record level, 23.1' has already been eclipsed. It appears the river won't go below flood stage until after the weekend.

The NY State Thruway is not expected to reopen until at least noon tomorrow. I will try to get photos of the detour/roadblock.

This coming Thursday, I will be traveling home to PA and had planned to go down via I-88. If the situation improves enough for travel, I'll keep to that plan and try to take photos.

Of note: One of the most deadly highway/bridge collapses in our nation's history occurred on the New York State Thruway, Interstate 90. On April 5, 1987, a bridge carrying four lanes of the Thruway over the Schoharie Creek near Amsterdam collapsed. A number of vehicles and a tractor tralier fell or drove into the swollen creek killing ten people. Wikipedia reference with an animation of a second collapse of the bridge.

Comments

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Massena Center Suspension Bridge

The Massena Center Bridge, also known as the Holton D. Robinson Bridge, has had quite the tumultuous history. Situated on the Grasse River just east of Massena, New York in the hamlet of Massena Center, the Massena Center Bridge is a reminder of the efforts the community has made in order to connect over the river. The first and only other known bridge to be built at Massena Center was built in 1832, but that bridge was never long for this world. During the spring of 1833, the Grasse River dammed itself due to an ice dam, flooded and lifted the bridge off its foundation, destroying the bridge in the process. The floods were frequent in the river during the spring, often backing up the river from Hogansburg and past Massena Center, but not to nearby Massena. After the first bridge disappeared, local residents had to resort to traveling seven miles west to Massena to cross the next closest bridge, and that was no easy task for a horse and buggy. However, it was many decades befo...

The Dead Man's Curve of Interstate 90 and Innerbelt Freeway in Cleveland

"Dead Man's Curve" refers to the transition ramp Interstate 90 takes between Cleveland Memorial Shoreway onto the Innerbelt Freeway in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Said curve includes a sharp transition between the two freeways which is known for a high rate of accidents. Currently the curve (not officially named) has a 35 MPH advisory speed and numerous safety features intended to mitigate crashes. When the Interstate System was first conceived during 1956, Interstate 90 was intended to use the entirety Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and connect to the Northwest Freeway through Lakewood. The Innerbelt Freeway was initially planned as the northernmost segment of Interstate 71. The extension of Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of Edgewater Park was never constructed which led to Interstate 90 being routed through the Innerbelt Freeway. Part 1; the history of Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway and Deadman's Curve The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signe...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog