FoxNews reports that a Federal Express truck (18 wheeler) has exploded in St. Louis on I-270. It is a bizarre sight. Destroyed packages and debris litter the highway, and the twin trailers were blown, it looks like, about 50 feet apart. The cab seems intact.
A terrorism expert now avers that it might have been an incendiary event rather than an explosion.
Any collateral damage to cars or buildings?
I-270?
That’s north of DC, not St Louis.
Any links here?
A cow-orker watching CNN said it doesn’t appear to be terrorist related, maybe just an accident.
I guess that’s good bad news.
Routine accident that ruptured the fuel tank [link=“http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/Midwest/10/29/fedex.explosion/index.html”] apparently[/link].
Jonathan wrote:
I see you have some links. Just for the record, though, there are a lot of I-270s, I-485s, and so on. Practically every major city has at least one loop or feeder.
WILSON!!! :eek:
Tripler
Aw c’mon, someone had to say it. . .
Eradicate my ignorance if I’m wrong but doesn’t the ‘I’ in “I-270” stand for 'Interstate"?
I thought those were federal and only used once each.
I-94 crosses at least one state border that I can think of offhand, and I’m sure more. There’s even an interstate that takes a ferry route between Manitowoc, WI and a city in MI (don’t have the name atm, article was in the Chicago Tribune within the last week), and the ferry itself is designated as part of the interstate. Perhaps the interstate in question is very long?
Jonathan: A 3 Digit Interstate is a branch off of a 2 digit interstate. If the first digit is odd, it’s a terminal branch into a city (I think), and if it’s even, it’s a circumferential highway around a metropolitan area. Three digit interstate numbers are reused all the time. I495 is in Mass, DC (I think) and many other places. Same with 290 and other such roads.
What Flymaster said. The 270’s are spurs off of I-70. There are a few cities with a 270 around them.
According to CNN, the local cop said that the 18-wheeler’s fuel tank ruptured sparking the explosion. Sence when does diesel fuel explode? Diesel fuel just makes a big smokey fire. Even gasoline dumped on the ground outside and ignited just burns rather specatularly - no giant explosions, just big walls of fire. (let’s just say I lead and interesting childhood)
To get a semi-trailer to blow up like that you need something more than spilt fuel on the ground. Perhaps the fuel fire under the truck set off something being shipped in the truck. Someone wanted their TNT delivered next day express?
I can’t help agreeing with StPaul. Looking at the photo on the CNN link, it’s hard to believe the authorities saying it’s “just a traffic crash”. This thing was carrying regular parcels? Birthday presents, documents and such? It’s been blown to smithereens!
Although they simply burn when on the ground, gasoline, diesel fuel and many other substances can cause quite a spectacular explosion when they are even partially contained… like a fuel tank. Also, a trailer on an large truck isn’t the most sturdy of things. It doesn’t take too much to blow the panels off, but most of the damage wasn’t because of the explosion, but the fire that followed.
The wreck happened just up the road from where I work.
I know of at least three I-405 freeways. There is one in that skirts Seattle, there is one in Los Angeles and one in Sacramento. I have driven on the Seattle and LA versions.