Stuck in Traffic When SHTF

[CamoDeafie]

I do consider myself lucky, I don't have much in way of bridges to cross to get to where I need to from Albany..... I only have to cross the HWY 20 bridges heading to Corvallis, but thats about it. And these two bridges have been repaired I believe. Assuming most people in Albany will head Eastward to the mountains on the 20, and assuming most people in Corvallis will head out West towards the coastal mountains (Alsea area); thats for the unprepared though, I think Hwy 20 bridges will be fine for the most part. But I have no illusions that some of the roadways in Albany itself will be an issue...especially the overpass of Hwy 20 and 99E Business that goes over the main railroads.

 

[mjbskwim]

I think if you are in traffic then you have to make choices QUICK. Check what exit/intersection you're at,determine if you need to change direction or continue on.
Keep track of,or should I say take alternate routes from day to day to see what choices you have.
If you are at work whe SHTF, then you can take some time and maybe wait an hour or two?
Someone to pick up? Know the best route(s) to their location. Some routes may not get used much. Maybe a neighborhood street?
From working in Seattle and trying to get out on 3 day weekends,alternate routes can be a life saver
Food and water in the vehicle for sure
Alternate pick up plans for kids would be something to think about.
From what someone on here was talking about a couple years ago,getting the kids in day care,in a facility close to one of the parent's work.....on the same side of a river. Say within a mile? Whatever you can cover easy?

 

[The Heretic]

Friday as I was walking out to the parking garage, I encountered 5 PM traffic backed up onto the local cross street, both ways, trying to get onto the local streets that dump onto Hwy 405/30 from the industrial district. It took me 10 minutes just to get out of the parking lot and onto a side residential street then use my alternate route (Cornell) up over the west hills.

The week before, some idiot called in a bomb threat on Friday and 500+ people poured out of the building and went home.

It won't take much to fill all of the side streets and alternate routes if that happens for all of downtown Portland at the same time - if they can even get that far; if an earthquake hits then there will be a lot of buildings, trees, power lines and other crap falling onto the streets, and quite possibly the streets themselves will be impassable even if nothing falls on them.

 

[Ura-Ki]

For a alt route out of Salem, try along the river south off of hwy22, it's a bit of a cruise, but there is a really nice new rail road bridge, and that should be passable in SHTF. Also, that part of the Willy isnt very deep, but it does change year to year! There are also a couple of newer bridges south of there as well. For down town PDX, there is always Forest Park road up off of 23rd ( I think) that no one seems to know about, it takes you up to Sky Line/Barns, and you can run the ridge all the way to Cornelius Pass or beyond if you need, As long as the west hills don't all slide and block the roads, this would be a good alt!

 

[The Heretic]

I don't see "forest park road" on the map. I think you mean Cornell Road, which you get to from the Lovejoy/23rd area.

Cornell road unfortunately is a well known alternate and piles up almost anytime Hwy 26th does, especially when it snows (it has been closed because of snow and accidents during snow). Skyline can sometimes be closed too for the same reasons. The problem with Forest Park and the west hills north of hwy 26 is that in areas they can be steep and will probably had landslide problems in an earthquake, not to mention trees and powerlines across the road.

Cornell and Burnside are the two alternates south of Hwy 26 unless you go to German Town road which is probably not going to be accessible in an earthquake due to the landslides as getting to it from hwy 30 is very steep (besides, it backs up with traffic now).

You can maybe get over the hills using Pittock drive, but from where I work Cornell is a better bet and if it is blocked then I would probably park and walk the road or take one of the trails accessible from the road. The main blockages to Cornell would be the two tunnels and possible landslides.

All in all, I hope that I don't have to deal with an earthquake for the next 4 to 5 years before I retire and never have to commute into Portland again.

 

[partsed]

In the back of my daily driver:

View attachment 289677

Two storage boxes. One contains about three days of FD food for one adult, two FAKs, several knives and so on. The other contains a GHB (with hydration bag) and some other items. The boots are for hoofing it (I usually wear comfortable slip-ons to work and when driving unless it is snowing).

Below that, there is a storage layer:
View attachment 289678

With about 10 liters of filtered water and some other dried food and assorted items.

Below that is another area where the battery and electronics for the car is. There is just enough spare room there to put a small handgun with ammo.

Up front, in the side pockets of the doors, is usually a liter or two of water and various snacks.

Holy Cow!! That looks like a rolling 7-11 in the trunk!!!
But I like it, I only wish my truck had that kind of storage...

 

[Certaindeaf]

Elvis would just jump that b. Give er a little gas, no probs.

 

[The Heretic]

Holy Cow!! That looks like a rolling 7-11 in the trunk!!!
But I like it, I only wish my truck had that kind of storage...

My daily driver - a small BMW crossover - actually doesn't have much storage in it behind the rear seats, about the same as a moderate sized car trunk. I prefer not to fold down the seats to get more storage most of the time, and that makes it a bit small when I go for groceries/etc.

 

[P7M13]

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

 

[partsed]

I have often thought about how I would get home from work because in Oregon (as we all know) there are so many rivers, creeks, etc.
that are crossed over by a bridge and if any of those collapse then finding you way home by automobile would be problematic at best.

 

[mjbskwim]

You just needs something like these guys
Maybe add a snorkel ?

 

[CamoDeafie]

Snorkels are a good way to make sure your engine doesnt suck water in.. but this works up to a certain depth.. an amphibious vehicle would likely be more useful around such places like the Columbia and the deep parts of Willamette, Santiam, and Molalla rivers.

 

[The Heretic]

Getting across even a shallow river or creek is more than just getting through the water. More often than not, in the PNW, the banks of a river are steep and muddy, especially in the winter, and many are lined with dense brush - the combination of which may make it very difficult if not impossible to cross the river even if there is no water at all, even on foot.

BTDT

 

[Skier]

Seeing the West Salem Bridges seems to be always clogged on the westbound bridge.....and this is on normal days.... if SHTF, what's gonna happen to these 4 bridges?

I can't speak for Salem specifically, but while taking my CERT training in Hillsboro, I was told that even if bridges in Portland are not destroyed and look just fine, the authorities will shut them down as soon as possible, until such time that the Army Corp of Engineers (or similar organization) can be brought in to verify the structural integrity of them, post disaster, so in general, people should NOT expect to be allowed to use any of them for days/weeks after an event. This is even true of many overpasses, on/off-ramps, etc, too. So they suggest that anyone who works on the other side of a river from their house, have a get-home bag with a few days of basic supplies/water, and maybe some cash that might buy you a trip across the river, if anyone with boats is still able to offer that service. Of course other ideas were also floated, like carrying an inflatable raft, etc, if you know places you can launch on one side and recover on the other.

There may be a certain amount of time, obviously, right after a disaster, where the authorities are not yet organized enough, or don't have enough manpower yet, to man and close down bridges, so if you happen to find a bridge that's not completely blocked by abandoned (or not abandoned) cars, and no one is stopping you, then you can certainly take the risk of trying to get across with your car (or on foot), but I'm just saying that the plan that's in place will shutdown bridges as soon as they can. I have a hard time thinking they'll have enough manpower (or even signs) to also shutdown all overpasses, but at least some higher risk ones probably will be. I'm very happy to not have any bridges or overpasses between home and work that I have to take. If you do, I'd highly recommend coming up with a plan that includes possible routes (with car or alternates on foot), a stocked get home bag, and preferably some alternate form of communications (e.g. ham radio, and a plan for the family, on how/when to use it, and using what frequencies/repeaters).

 

[CoastRange57]

Getting across even a shallow river or creek is more than just getting through the water. More often than not, in the PNW, the banks of a river are steep and muddy, especially in the winter, and many are lined with dense brush - the combination of which may make it very difficult if not impossible to cross the river even if there is no water at all, even on foot.

BTDT

Excellent point. This is where some high angle rope work and training come in handy. We have a set up to transit these creeks, with a modified zip line grapple hooks and assistance lines. Do not think this is something you are going to carry in a duffle bag and do a one person deployment on, because it is not. It takes 3 trained people to deploy this method (s), and then you will be essentially abandoning your set up for others to use after you utilize it.

 

[AMProducts]

I hope I wouldn't be stuck in traffic when this happens...

Sped up like that, it might actually be comical if it weren't 30K people getting wiped out.

That said, I did quite like the cars "noping" out of there.

 

[AMProducts]

View attachment 307120

Now all you need is a tape of "Barbie Girl" to put on the car stereo.

 

[browncoat762]

I think about this everyday on the I- 5 Parking lot. I always carry at least two extra mags, multi tool, flash light with batteries, Knife and small med kit. But recent events have me looking at this differently. Because Washington is a progressive utopia, our roads are decaying and the walking dead are infesting everything. That means the slightest earth quake will bring bridges down. In addition to that the goblins already have carte blanch on property crimes and public drug use, they are not far from mass violence as it is.

This has me carrying more ammo and considering an AR9 Pistol that I can put in my " gym bag". One thing I thought of is foot wear and a change of clothes, if you are not used to walking long distances, it may be worth it to include extra socks and shoes/boots if you can. Blisters and foot pain can push the suck meter off the charts. I have to wear a suit and tie so I keep a change of clothes behind the seat, along with some water and cliff bars. I am going to add a few more items to my Gym bag and try to be close to home in November

This cat has some good info

 

[Defense Minister]

The scenario I picture in your example is being on I-5 when Cascadia rumbles. My plan is to drive as far as I can, even if it means on the shoulder or in the meridian, then abandon my vehicle and walk home. I can't imagine LE is going to be overly concerned about someone driving outside the normal lanes of travel following a 9.0+ earthquake; they'll have bigger fish to fry such as getting home to their own families! However, that doesn't mean I plan to bring unnecessary attention to myself.

I have a case of bottled water, first aid kit, and flashlight in every vehicle and never go anywhere without my Get Home Bag. If I go more than an hour from home or have the family with me, I also bring a larger pack that contains more food, a fixed-blade knife, pump-type water filter, and emergency bivvies and filter water bottles for each family member. If it is summer and I am wearing sandals while traveling, I always throw more sturdy footwear in the back before leaving home.

My GHB contains the following:

• Full Sawyer 34 oz. water bottle with filter insert in Ziploc bag
• Empty 70 oz. hydration bladder
• High-calorie food
• Fleece hat
• Sun hat
• Thermal shirt
• Rain jacket (plus rain pants in winter)
  
• Convertible pants in summer, thermal underwear bottoms in winter
• Extra pair of socks and underwear
• SOL Escape Emergency Bivvy
• Fire starting materials
• Sunscreen
• $100 cash
• Insect repellent
• Individual Trauma/First Aid Kit
• Rubberized cut-resistant gloves in summer, rubberized thermal gloves in winter
• Watch
• Headlamp
• Cell phone accessories including portable solar battery pack
• Photochromatic safety glasses
• Reading glasses
  
• Leatherman tool
• Dust masks
  
• Water purification tablets (even though I have a filter bottle, much of I-5 is bordered by livestock fields that can contaminate water sources with viruses that have to be killed because they are too small to filter out)
• Toilet paper and hand sanitizer
• 550 Paracord
  
• 5.11 Covrt18 Backpack

While this sounds like a lot, it only weighs 17 lbs. I know folks that carry that much in ammo alone in their GHBs...

In addition to the pack, I always carry two LED flashlights (one keychain), Kershaw Blur folder, and Glock 19 with extra mag. I also carry an empty Watershed dry bag in my vehicle during winter months so I can transfer the contents of the pack to the dry bag which is submersible. It can be filled with air and then sealed in order to provide flotation should I need to swim a creek/river while getting home. It seems everywhere one goes in Western Oregon there is flowing water, so I have also considered adding a high-quality inflatable PFD to the GHB as well as a large tarp to the bigger pack. Hope this helps some of you become better prepared.