Trae Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 (edited) The entire span of the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed about 6:05 p.m. in Minneapolis. Bridge collapse in Minneapolis kills at least 6 By Libby Sander and Susan Saulny Wednesday, August 1, 2007 An Interstate highway bridge in central Minneapolis loaded with rush-hour traffic dropped more than 60 feet into the Mississippi River tonight, sending at least 50 vehicles and passengers into the water below. Mayor R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis said that at least six people were killed in the bridge collapse. Local officials warned that the number of fatalities was likely to increase through the night. One witness told CNN that a policeman said he had seen seven bodies. Dozens of injured drivers and passengers were taken to area hospitals. The eight-lane Interstate 35 bridge, a major link between Minneapolis and St. Paul, was being repaired at the time, and an eyewitness told MSNBC that he had heard a jackhammer being used on the roadway just before the collapse at about 6 p.m. local time. Witnesses said the bridge, which was built in 1967, collapsed in three sections, sending a plume of smoke 100 feet into the sky. ___________________________ More at link. There was a bridge under construction in California that collapsed today as well. Six are dead so far. I never really think about a bridge collapsing whenever I am on one. They look pretty sturdy to me. Tunnels are different for me. Edited August 2, 2007 by Trae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 (edited) Unbelievable. A horrible tragedy for those involved.I haven't had a chance to watch too much of the coverage tonight, but from the bits and pieces I've heard, the "construction" on the bridge consisted mainly of concrete pavement repair. I'm not a bridge expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't see how concrete repairs to the pavement surface affected the steel arch bridge structure.A bridge that's been standing for 40 years doesn't just collapse without some kind of warning. This one was inspected just three years ago.I did hear one structural engineer on TV who said he thought it was either some kind of thermal failure or a fatigue failure. I don't know much about structures, but wouldn't a fatigue failure give some kind of warning beforehand, like shifting/cracking pavement? As far as thermal failure, I know that curing concrete creates a lot of heat, but is it hot enough to melt steel?!?I think somebody cut something they weren't supposed to...somehow cut or damaged a structural member. Edited August 2, 2007 by Original Timmy Chan's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I've been over that bridge many times. It's strange to think I'll have to find another way to go. I'm scheduled to be in that area at the end of the month. I'll try to pop by and take pictures.My bet is that someone botched the inspection, or just stamped the paperwork without doing the job right. What I find interesting is that so much of the bridge came town. It wasn't like in the Northridge earthquake when we saw the Bay Bridge come apart at the joints and individual sections fell. This was a number of sections.From the looks of the wreckage, it appears the center steel pylon shifted/tilted southward, dragging the roadway to the north along with it and compressing the southern roadway into the river. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister X Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 (edited) How can they be so sure this Minnesota bridge collapse wasn't terrorism. It fell with no warning at rush hour. Makes me sick to think about this disaster. Bridges always make me nervous anyway.Extremely minor point here but - the 1994 Northridge quake effected the L.A. region specifically the San Fernando Valley - I was 12 miles from the epicenter when it happened so this info is permanently etched in my brain forever. The 1989 Loma Prieta quake effected the S.F. region and was responsible for the Bay Bridge section collapse. Edited August 2, 2007 by Mister X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Many of these people were heading to the ballgame nearby they said. Brings back bad memories of Northridge. I worked nearby in Westwood at the time on and still can't forget it. Aftershocks lingered for weeks/months The Santa Monica Frwy had dropped huge segments as well. Having to drive over them after repairs was still scary to think of. Glad I'm back in Houston. The search for bodies is continuing as we speak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDeb Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 My bet is that someone botched the inspection, or just stamped the paperwork without doing the job right.It's possible, but there are a lot of variables involved in this case so let's not hang anyone just yet. The fortunate thing (well, as fortunate as it gets in this type of thing) is that there is video of the collapse, which will give engineers a good idea of the collapse mechanism. Therefore, I would expect the report to have a high degree of confidence in its findings and I would expect that responsibility will be pinpointed.As a civil engineer (although not specializing in structural), I always cringe at press reporting on these types of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 After I posted last night, I did see on the CNN ticker that a 2001 study by Minnesota DOT found signs of fatigue on the bridge structure, but that bridge replacement could be deferred.Unfortunately, maintenance of public infrastructure in this country gets deferred all too often. Out of sight, out of mind. Events like this will create some action for a little while, but infrastructure will be forgotten soon enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porchman Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Both Twin Cities newspapers are reporting that the bridge was deemed "structurally deficient" in 2005. The inspectors' grading of the structure is described here:http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_6522474 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovernorAggie Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 For the forum engineers, here's the link to the video of the collapse. It almost collapsed in one piece. Prayers out to those affected as well as their friends, family, and loved ones.http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/0...ridge.gary.kare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 This was an extremely horrifying situation. What caused the bridge to collapse in the first place? If it was in bad shape they shouldv'e not had people on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millennica Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 San Francisco ChronicleFedEx driver, construction worker injured in Oroville scaffolding collapseMarisa Lagos, Chronicle Staff Writer(07-31) 14:58 PDT OROVILLE -- Newly erected scaffolding on a highway ramp under construction near Oroville collapsed this morning, sending a construction worker plummeting 50 feet to the ground and crushing the legs of a FedEx driver who was trapped in his truck.Thirty-six tons of steel girders and bent posts crashed to the ground around 7:15 a.m. at state highways 149 and 70 about 5 miles north of Oroville in Butte County, Caltrans spokesman Mark Dinger said. The cause of the collapse was not immediately known.Two steel beams landed on the FedEx truck, crushing driver Robert Sylvester's lower extremities and trapping the 45-year-old Chico resident in the truck for more than three hours, officials said.Anne Sylvester, Robert's mother, said her son is recovering, "as far as we can tell." She did not know the extent of his injuries but said she had seen her son in the hospital and that he was conscious and talking to his family.http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c...5.DTL&tsp=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 All this reminds me of the fear I've always had crossing the Trinity River east of Houston (near Wallisville) on that old, rickety, decrepit two-lane bridge on I-10. As I understand it, work on that bridge was scheduled to begin this year? Is this the case? I've not been that far east of Houston on I-10 since January of this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDeb Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 All this reminds me of the fear I've always had crossing the Trinity River east of Houston (near Wallisville) on that old, rickety, decrepit two-lane bridge on I-10. As I understand it, work on that bridge was scheduled to begin this year? Is this the case? I've not been that far east of Houston on I-10 since January of this year.Work on the Trinity River I-10 bridge is indeed underway. Pilings are being driven and bent caps are being set on the north (westbound) side of the current structure. The current structure is listed as being structurally deficient, rating a 51.6 out of 120. The Minneapolis bridge had a rating of 50. There are many bridges in the Houston area with far worse ratings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwilson Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 it appears on the video that the spans all gave way simultaneously. This is very odd. Homeland Security is saying there is no chance it was terrorism, that will lead all eyes to the construction company who was working on the bridge and the city / county / state entity responsible for maintaining the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssullivan Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I was shocked last night to see the news. I've driven over that bridge countless times in the last year, as I've been working in Minneapolis a lot. Many times I've driven across it around 6:00 PM going downtown for dinner. Fortunately all of the people I work with seem to be fine, although several of them knew people involved. Fortunately none of those were seriously hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Texas is said to have 2100 structurally deficent bridges. Sounds a bit much but it was discussed on NPR this morning.I don't even trust the Gulf Frwy overpass at Telephone Road. I have seen trucks get wedged under it so many times over the last decades you couldn't count. Then there are the larger trucks that have hit the pillars from time to time. That Frwy is over 50 years old. The need to tear down and raise it up and build brand new. When you drive under it still looks like 1957. Bad planning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Texas is said to have 2100 structurally deficent bridges. Sounds a bit much but it was discussed on NPR this morning.I don't even trust the Gulf Frwy overpass at Telephone Road. I have seen trucks get wedged under it so many times over the last decades you couldn't count. Then there are the larger trucks that have hit the pillars from time to time. That Frwy is over 50 years old. The need to tear down and raise it up and build brand new. When you drive under it still looks like 1957. Bad planning.according to the chronicle this morning...Fourteen of the more than 2,000 state-maintained bridges in Harris and adjoining counties are classified as "structurally deficient," but all are open to traffic and safe to drive, Texas Department of Transportation officials said Thursday....which is quite different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 14 bridges in Harris County alone are deemed to be of the same stauts as the Minneapolis bridge, BEFORE it's collapse. Looks like it would take about $400 million to make them up to code. The bridges in question have been posted on numerous sites.link for my HAIF peeps:http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/kho...s.d8bf6c61.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted August 6, 2007 Author Share Posted August 6, 2007 The Trinity is one that scares me. They need to fix that thing. It is always crowded, too and needs to be widened to three lanes going each way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 Texas is said to have 2100 structurally deficent bridges. Sounds a bit much but it was discussed on NPR this morning.I don't even trust the Gulf Frwy overpass at Telephone Road. I have seen trucks get wedged under it so many times over the last decades you couldn't count. Then there are the larger trucks that have hit the pillars from time to time. That Frwy is over 50 years old. The need to tear down and raise it up and build brand new. When you drive under it still looks like 1957. Bad planning.You may wanna make that 1948, lol. That overpass was widened and a bit of refurbishing was done to it around 1982-1985.The Trinity is one that scares me. They need to fix that thing. It is always crowded, too and needs to be widened to three lanes going each way.That project is underway. That bridge is pretty old, built in 1955. Call me silly, but when there's hardly any traffic around, instead of getting scared and slowing up to below the speed limit as everyone else does, I'll barrel up and down that steep, narrow thing at 80 or above, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted August 9, 2007 Author Share Posted August 9, 2007 Why wait so long to rebuild that thing? The piece of ____ is old as hell. All of those 18-wheelers don't help its situation either. The new bridge better be a lane wider (more lanes) and look aesthetically pleasing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovernorAggie Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 I think the Trinity will be wider by a lane (as part of the I-10 widening) but won't be "aesthectically" pleasing. Just a regular bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDeb Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 I think the Trinity will be wider by a lane (as part of the I-10 widening) but won't be "aesthectically" pleasing. Just a regular bridge.It will look remarkably like the Sabine River bridge (which is wide enough for three lanes but only has two) at the Louisiana state line, but with three lanes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted August 9, 2007 Author Share Posted August 9, 2007 I think I-10 is suppose to be widened to three lanes each way from East Houston onto the Louisiana state line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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