Via CaHwyGuy’s Livejournal, I found this odd story in the Los Angeles Times:
For 10 days now, a sagging house parked on the freeway’s northbound shoulder in the Cahuenga Pass has had people gawking — and talking.[...]
Richardson, 45, of Castaic, obtained a permit from Caltrans to transport the oversize load on the freeway. Instead of taking the shortest route — up the 405 Freeway and over the Sepulveda Pass — he took a longer and more level route through downtown L.A. and north on the 101 Freeway.
By the time the 20-foot-wide structure reached the downtown area, wheels were reportedly coming loose from the trailer hauling the house. Richardson made emergency repairs and lumbered onward, only to come to a halt again in Hollywood.
That’s where his house struck the 14-foot-10-inch Western Avenue bridge. The impact sheared off the top of the structure’s roof. A SigAlert was called when it took hours to free the stuck house. Richardson eventually was able to limp another 3 1/2 miles to Barham Boulevard, where the shoulder beneath the overpass was wide enough for the house to be parked out of traffic lanes.
You know, there have been a couple of times in my life where I’ve had very easy commutes. In college, for example, I lived in an apartment upstairs from one of my jobs. Post-college job #2 saw me living next door to my office. And currently, I have to travel frequently for work, making owning a home near the end of the runway pretty darned convenient.
I can see that there’s something to be said for living someplace with such easy freeway access.
I can also see that this would be a textbook example of the rationale in the warning, ”don’t try this at home”.
Actually, I think that pictures of this wayward bungalow ought to be incorporated in Travelers’ display of wacky disasters in the east concourse of Terminal A at BDL. The display shows a number of…unique (and presumably fictional) claim situations. Having your house broken-down on the verge of the motorway would fit right in with that display.