Friday, October 12, 2007

I hate that Friggin Samoa bridge!

Had a car today decide to try to pass a truck on a double yellow line on the last section of the bridge on the peninsula side. Or maybe they were just not paying attention. They came right at me head on and swerved back in their lane at the last second. I was hugging the rail to the right. Thought that was going to be it.

I can't tell you how many close calls I have had over the years on that bridge. Just a few weeks ago a I was in the middle lane at 4th and R and a truck with a container for pulp was in the far right lane. I followed traffic. The truck took off and was trying to pass before the merge at 3rd street and he kept on passing cars and was trying to pass me and I had nowhere to go. He literally drove on the side walk where the bus stop before he slid behind me. I slowed to a crawl.

I really think one quick cure for one traffic problem would be to put a sign at 3rd and R saying both ways, "no left turn." Seems reasonable to me and would do wonders for traffic flow through there.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

What are you trying to say? Fire up mapquest and show us a picture.

Anonymous said...

And you want to get a motorcycle?

Anonymous said...

Quit complaining and get back to work!

Anonymous said...

Did you poop your pants?

Anonymous said...

I miss the ferries. Who needs a bridge!?

Anonymous said...

Cal-Trans is building a traffic wall between the north-bound and south-bound lanes of Highway 101 between Eureka and Fortuna faster than the Bush Administration is building the much more urgently-needed wall on the southern border.

Maybe Cal-Trans could borrow some of those median barriers and put them between the traffic lanes on the Samoa Bridge.

Anonymous said...

"I miss the ferries. Who needs a bridge!?"

Certainly old town didn't need it. Remember all the workers that went though old town everyday to take the farries?

Anonymous said...

Richard, I thought you were having a softball tourney. What happened?

samoasoftball said...

8:29am-I did not have enough teams until last week. I did not want to risk putting the money up front and there was a forcast for rain. (Around $1,000 upfront) By then I decided to work some OT at the mill instead.

Tapperass said...

I remember growing up in Ventura County, and the little town of Saticoy had the worst bridge traffic in the county. Highway 118 was a major traffic way from Oxnard to the east side of the county. A bridge over the Santa Clara river on the highway was only two lanes. Every afternoon, the bridge backed up, and traffic through Saticoy was bumper to bumper. It took several years from Cal Trans to upgrade the bridge to handle more traffic.

Anyway, I do not see 255 as being a major traffic way. Maybe someday remedies will put in place to make traffic flow.

-boy

Anonymous said...

$1,000 is a lot of money to put out up front for a tourney, but that's business as usual for the City of Eureka, where it used to be easy and cheap to put on a tourney. I don't know what weather report you were looking at, though.

Anonymous said...

The view from atop the Samoa Bridge is so beautiful, it is a wonder anybody can keep their mind on their driving!

Anonymous said...

Traffic Smaffic, Humboldts population is declining and will only increase with retirees on fixed incomes . This place has already seen its good days and will continua to sink into its methdom, Sad