We got our first clue about this when the Cypress Street Viaduct in Oakland crushed 42 people during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Yes, 1989. Thirty years ago. Breaking up is hard to do, after all.

Specifically, after watching the top layer of the Cypress Street Viaduct “pancake” onto the second layer during the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, which killed 42 people.

Cranes surround the Cypress Street Viaduct, on Interstate 880 on Oct. 19, 1989, in San Francisco, following a massive earthquake two days prior.

Perhaps the most catastrophic event from the shake was the double deck catastrophe on the Cypress Street viaduct of ...