Wickenburg doesn’t get much in the way of big news, so this is probably going to dominate the next edition of the Wickenburg Sun. A tanker big rig rolled over on its side this morning on the south roundabout along the US 93 bypass on the east side of town (map).
Image: (top) US 95/60 warning sign south of town (bottom) the rolled tanker. Click on the image to enlarge.
We were on a couple of missions today, one to take an unscheduled drive to Surprise, AZ to return some defective hardware for the new house and another appointment to see a country & western show at the Del Webb Center here in town. We encountered the tanker crash drama all day long as we went across the Hassayampa via the south roundabout several times.
The tanker (obviously) came through the roundabout a little on the fast side and rolled onto its right side. Luckily, the tanks didn’t burst. Authorities summoned another tanker to the scene to begin transferring the contents from the capsized tanker.
Most of the folks I talked to today think that the roundabouts are too small for big rig traffic even though there is a lot of it up and down 93, the main thoroughfare from Las Vegas to Phoenix. One of the town folk told me this wasn’t the first rollover and the roundabouts have only been there for about a year.
We’ve got one roundabout here in Long Beach, and I avoid it like the plague.
I’ll spend an extra 15 minutes driving just so I don’t have to even get near that damn thing!
We know the Long Beach roundabout and hate it too. I blogged about it back in 2006.
Ah…my “pre-blog” days”!
Long Beach is my home town. I was born less than a mile from the circle and grew up near the LA Riverbed just north of Willow. Long time ago . . .