CONTRIBUTORS
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Urban Explorer Handbook 2006
- Up on the Roof
- They have evidence
- Give me Shelter
- Get Your War On
- The Final Frontier
- It's No Secret
- Under the Big Top
- Hidden Treasures
- Have I.D. Ready
- Stuck in the Middle with You
- Habeas Corpus
- The Big White One
- Tunnel Vision
- Top O' The Town
- Do Not Cheer, Do Not Despoil the Logo
- The Thunder Down Below
- You've Got The Power
- Just Give It A Little Tug
Where: The I-4/I-275 ("Malfunction Junction") reconstruction project, downtown Tampa
Public access: Difficult but not impossible. After all, if your car were to break down you might wind up in one of the construction zones in spite of yourself. And some of the sites can be reached from side streets. Technically, though, it's illegal to get into the areas where workers are rebuilding the interstate. And not real smart.
Element of danger: Pretty high. Cars and trucks and buses are whizzing by at speeds up to 70 or 80 mph (not at rush hour, of course) and within feet of construction crews. You feel the breeze from vehicles speeding past, and trucks cause the roadbed on bridges to rumble disconcertingly.
Why we went: Have you ever stood in the middle of Malfunction Junction? Thought not.
What we discovered: True story: I was clipped by a truck crossing a street in Atlanta last year while on a company training trip. It is the source of much laughter here in the office (considering that I wasn't killed, and it was mostly my fault anyway, owing to too much vodka and the lure of a tattoo parlor across the street at midnight). So when it came to choosing who at the Planet would be the perfect person to stand in the middle of thousands of speeding cars in Malfunction Junction, I was the obvious choice.
Shortly after morning rush hour on a Friday (with an assist from the Florida Department of Transportation), I found myself in the construction median of I-275 northbound. The only thing separating me from the big red trucks motoring around the curve was an unconvincing concrete barrier. "Move closer," one of the FDOT guys said to me when I hesitated a good four feet from the barrier. Ha-ha.
The power of the traffic was awesome and scary. FDOT spokesman John McShaffrey pointed out that we were fairly safe behind the concrete barricades. Some workers on the $79.5 million job, especially those who toil at night when the cars hit 80 or 90 mph, work with only an orange plastic barrel between themselves and motorists. A few have been hit by cars on this project; fortunately, they've suffered only broken arms or legs. But overall, McShaffrey said the project, which started in October 2002 and should be finished this summer, has gone well, with motorists not seeing a big drop in the highway's passability. Of course, it was almost impassable at rush hour before the re-construction began. So as scary as this spot is to stand in now, just wait until the reconstruction is finished, when traffic is really moving along. (Shudder.)
