Tanker explosion shuts down I-375 overpass indefinitely

Friday, March 30, 2007

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The tanker crash created a huge fire on the Interstate 375 overpass.

Damage is so severe from Wednesday night's fuel tanker explosion on the Interstate 375 overpass that a span of the bridge might have to come down.

Engineers with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) are working on demolition plans. That means it will not be open for the Honda Grand Prix in St. Petersburg this weekend.

The charred southbound lanes of the overpass are closed indefinitely as FDOT officials fear the bridge might collapse. Damage was so severe that workers had to pressure wash the bridge to get a better look at the damage.

"We have one span that we know is going to have to come down," FDOT engineer Pepe Garcia said. "We have a number of other beams that have been identified as very suspect and likely have to be replaced."

The damage resulted from a fuel tanker that overturned on the overpass near downtown St. Petersburg late Wednesday, causing a massive inferno that killed the driver, spilled fuel and fire into the streets below.

According to authorities, the truck's driver failed to negotiate the turn on the overpass, flipped several times and hit a wall, setting off several explosions that knocked chunks of concrete out of the overpass.

The driver, 47-year-old Ronald Kennedy, was from Zephyrhills. He worked for Penn Tank Lines, a company out of Pennsylvania.

Interstate 275 was closed overnight during the cleanup but was reopened before 7 a.m.

Tanker Crash

St. Petersburg Fire Rescue had multiple units respond to the huge explosion and resulting blaze.

The fire was extinguished but not before flames fell into the city's equipment yard, which are housed just below the expressway. St. Petersburg mayor Rick Baker said eight to 10 of the city's service vehicles in the yard were destroyed. Damage estimates were placed at $500,000.

The flames and resulting heat that fell into the stormwater system were so intense they blew off several nearby manhole covers. One of those flying covers struck a St. Petersburg police officer, sending him to Bayfront Medical Center with a concussion, authorities said.

The charred roadway was still smoldering hours after the accident.

The fire also spread into the storm dranes and city officials used a robotic camera to crawl through the area while surveying the damage on a monitor.

FDOT officials were forced to wait several hours before allowing the Florida Highway Patrol to investigate the accident, only allowing foot traffic early on.

The explosion couldn't come at a worst time for the city, since 100,000 people are expected to visit for the Grand Prix. Baker said the city is working on a transportation plan and will have it in place by Friday.

While the physical damage is extensive, fire officials said the timing of the accident in the wee hours of the morning may have saved lives.

At this point FDOT engineers don't have a time frame of when the overpass will reopen. They are estimating weeks. They also said they are still examining one of the colums to see if it also needs to come down.

City officials opened the northbound exit just past noon. That means traffic coming from south of St. Petersburg can use the flyover to get to downtown St. Petersburg.