Trapped In Surrey!
The weather forecasters claimed that while we would get some snow this morning, it was going to be rain by midday and thus the snow would be washed away by the time I had to drive home ((I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – snow belongs on ski hills and in my last name and nowhere else.)). Weather forecasters, as it turns out, are filthy, filthy liars.
Apparently when they built the new Port Mann Bridge, they didn’t test it for what happens when it snows. And apparently what happens when it snows is that giants chunk of ice fall off the bridge wires onto the cars on the bridge, shattering their windshields. Shattering windshields are generally considered to be a not good thing and during a snowstorm, doubly so. So they closed the Port Mann Bridge. Which made everyone on Earth head over to the Patullo Bridge, which is the bridge that I need to cross to get home from my office. Here, I drew you a map, since I have time to kill because, did I mention, I’m trapped in Surrey?
As you can see from Figure 1, I’m trapped in Surrey.
When the workday ended, the word on the street traffic radio was that with the Port Mann closed, the Patullo was backed up and it was taking about an hour to get across the bridge. Usually it takes me about 20 minutes to get from my office to home. Not being a fan of sitting in traffic, I decided to do a bit of shopping to wait out the traffic ((I also had a WagJag coupon for the Le Chateau Outlet, which is right beside my office, that expired today, so that kind of worked out well.)). When I was done my shopping however, the word on the street traffic radio was that it was now taking *two* hours to get across the bridge. So I did what any traffic hating person would do – I got me some Indian take-out and headed back to my office. My office has a heater, the Internet, and ready access to chocolate and tea. If you are going to be stranded somewhere, those things make it a little more palatable.
OK, I’ve just checked in with Google Maps traffic and traffic radio and both are telling me that cars are actually getting across the Patullo now, so I think I’ll venture out. Wish me luck!
Have you made it home yet?
Someone commented on the CBC article about the bridge closure that the maintenance contract should in future be awarded to the NHL, because they’re able to keep surfaces ice-free all winter long.
I did, in fact, make it home that night. After I finished my blog posting, I was able to drive home with no trouble whatsoever! I figure my time doing a bit of shopping, eating dinner, and writing a blog posting was much better spent than if I spent 2 hours sitting in my car gripping the steering wheel in fear as I inched ever so slowly closer to home./