Wednesday, November 11th, the Brent Spence Bridge experienced a fire caused by two semi-trucks crashing into each other halfway through the bridge. With one semi-truck holding potassium hydroxide. Though the chemical itself doesn’t burn, if water or any type of moisture mixes with its toxic fumes, it may cause the chemical to generate enough heat to ignite materials such as wood, paper, and oil. Thought, when a semi-truck holding the chemical gets into a crash and is it is said in The Enquirer, 400 gallons of diesel fuel mix, there was no doubt that it was going to combust in flames.
It is said that a commercial motor vehicle truck jackknifed, meaning the vehicle and the trailer ended up in a ‘v’ formation before it got struck by a secondary truck that was holding potassium hydroxide. The fire, being on the bridge cause much panic to everyone stuck behind it. The fire causing a traffic jam on the bridge to where no one was able to back off the bridge. The main cause of the fire was of course the combination of both the fuel and the potassium hydroxide. The fire burned for 2 whole hours and was up to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The bridge sadly will be closed until further notice.
But the question is, for Thomas more commuters, how early should you leave in the mornings to make sure that you can get to your classes in time? With the bridge being out, many travelers and semi-truck drivers had to find alternate routes to cross the river, most of them getting on at the 245 splits and going towards Alexandria, either staying on 275 going over the Combs-Hehl Bridge near coney island or turning onto 471 towards the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge near Newport. Others may just take the backroads. Personally, I come from I-42 every morning, and even if I leave an hour early, I still end up being late for school. Both on the highway, and onto Dixie Hwy. so with everyone trying to find alternate routes when will be the best time to leave home to get to class on time?
Depending on how far you live from campus and which routes you take you should always take into consideration that 275 is down to two lanes with 15 minutes lane closures, and with Dixie Hwy always being congested its best to always add at least an hour to your commute, that way you have time to get through the traffic, or even be able to get through it before the roads get to busy.
Either way, be sure to plan, the backup changes every day. Look at your mobile maps, and see how far back the congestion is, and seriously, take it into account, find alternate routes as well if needed. luckily, Governor Andy Beshear has stated that the bridge will be back up and running by December 23, and again luckily for us, by that time we will all be home, not worrying about the traffic anymore. Take this last week into account and be sure to get to class on time.
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