This Is Why You Can’t Make a U-Turn on the Casco Bay Bridge When It Breaks
Much to the dismay of South Portland residents, and anyone commuting to or from the surrounding area, the Casco Bay Bridge has been having some issues lately. On Monday, the bridge got seriously stuck, and caused a huge traffic jam that definitely put a damper on everyone's summer day. It did, however, raise an important question - why can't cars make a U-turn and escape when the bridge is having problems?
Well, we weren't the only people wondering. Why can't we just cut a couple of gates in the concrete median to ease congestion in these scenarios? Following interest from the public on this issue, WCSH-6 asked the experts, and got us an answer. Check out the video below:
In the video, Tim Cusick, Superintendent of Operations at the Maine Department of Transportation, explains that the concrete medians house the electrical conduits for the streetlights on the bridge. This means that in order to make a gate, the bridge crew would have to re-route the cable going to he lights, which would require tearing the bridge apart and re-work those specific sections. Sounds like a lot of trouble.
However, there should be SOME sort of backup plan in case this keeps happening. What about a giant metal ramp that takes cars over the median and sends them back off for SoPo? That can't be too expensive!
For now, though, we'll keep on dreaming, Someday...