CNN reports major bridge collapse in Minnesota

Website · #41 Postby **Brent** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 12:27 am

Minneapolis Star-Tribune: 9 dead, 60 injured, 20 missing

Fire chief says there are vehicles they haven't seen yet and family members are gathering. Not good

therock1811 · #42 Postby **therock1811** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 2:51 am

Following is from my myspace blog tonight...yes I'm on a soapbox...

Wednesday, August 1, will be forever remembered as the most tragic day in the city of Minneapolis' history. The Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed about 6:05pm local time, killing 7 as of this writing and more bodies will likely be found Thursday as the search continues. Right there is a wake up call. Folks, that bridge was 40 years old. Nothing was known to be wrong - it just fell. As a nation we must take a big time look at the aging infrastructure - roads and all. This includes railroad bridges, highways, and other things that are important to our national interest! THERE IS NO REASON for what happened in MN today. NONE.

#43 Postby **Dionne** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 6:42 am

Looking at the pics it's fairly obvious what happened. The VSM's (vertical support members) are still standing......which rules out containment failure. The failures (yes, multiple) happened at the expansion joints. Given the information that the bridge was under repair with resurfacing tells the story. I expect when the bridges history is divulged we'll find that the resurfacing over the years exceeded its maximum intended load.

I find it appalling that the bridge was not immediately shutdown at the discovery of the first failure. A hole in a bridge isn't just a pothole.....it's an early warning signal.

After viewing the CNN footage......the bottom cord of the steel truss assembly failed first. NTSB is gonna have a field day with this one.

#44 Postby **angelwing** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:11 am

I don't know if it's been posted here, but CNN has exclusive video of the bridge collapse...it gave me chills, those poor people

Also if I can bend your ear, my girlfriend is 3 months pregnant and I haven't heard from her since 3:15PM yesterday and they are asking folks not to make phone calls because they want to keep the lines free for the rescue/recovery effort, could you just say a prayer? My nerves are shot and I'm very worried :cry:

TexasStooge · #45 Postby **TexasStooge** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:34 am

I've just emailed my cousins in Minnesota to see if they're OK.

gtalum · #46 Postby **gtalum** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:55 am

This bridge also had a very significant design flaw: it's arched truss design had no redundancy. Literally one piece coming loose is all it would take to bring down the entire structure. Fortunately, this bridge's particular design was unique in the US and a similar failure elsewhere is extremely unlikely.

Not having a chance to look at the bridge (obviously) my guess is that the failure was at a single connection in the truss, where a stress crack previously undiscovered had expanded due to a combination of the incredible heating/colling cycles in Minnesota (-20 in winter to 95+ in summer), the salt corrosion caused in winter, and the vibration of the roadwork being done. Possibly the slight added vibration of the train passing underneath simultaneous with the construction vibration and the added load of bumper-to-bumper traffic was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

#47 Postby **TreasureIslandFLGal** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:59 am

angelwing wrote:I don't know if it's been posted here, but CNN has exclusive video of the bridge collapse...it gave me chills, those poor people Also if I can bend your ear, my girlfriend is 3 months pregnant and I haven't heard from her since 3:15PM yesterday and they are asking folks not to make phone calls because they want to keep the lines free for the rescue/recovery effort, could you just say a prayer? My nerves are shot and I'm very worried

Prayers going out to you Angelwing in hopes that your friend is okay. Also, prayers going out to all of the victims and their families and the entire city of Minneapolis!

I had to call my Father last night to find out if my Uncle, Aunt, and Cousins were okay because they all live there. My Dad said that he received a phone call from them immediately following the incident to report that they were alright because my Uncle knew that we would all be worried sick.

hunter84 · #48 Postby **hunter84** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:25 am

What a terrible tragedy to happen.
Reports I have heard now say it was recommended that the bridge be considered for replacement 2 years ago as it received a 50° score when inspected.
Angelwing, I hope you hear from your girlfriend soon and she is ok.

TexasStooge · #49 Postby **TexasStooge** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 3:29 pm

Just got a response from my cousins in Minnesota, they said they're doing OK. One of their family members happens to be around the area at the time of the incident.

The drive to work for them will be heck though.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and families of the victims there.

HurricaneBill · #50 Postby **HurricaneBill** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 3:35 pm

The official death toll has been lowered to 4. But they say there are more bodies submerged in cars.

artist · #51 Postby **artist** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 3:43 pm

I heard that was only because the others have not been able to be removed yet, therefore even though they know of 9 deaths, officially they can only declare 4.

Website · #52 Postby **Brent** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 3:57 pm

20-30 missing, it's gonna be a lot higher than 9 most likely.

They've had to stop the recovery operation because of the debris, it's too dangerous for the divers. Could be awhile before the final toll is known.

#53 Postby **RL3AO** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 4:51 pm

They are lowering the river a few feet to help.

Miss Mary · #54 Postby **Miss Mary** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 6:15 pm

Apparently there's a bridge in Indianapolis that is almost identical to this I 35W Minn. bridge. Local news channels state officials are looking very closely at this Indy bridge. I'll try to find articles and links to back up this concern. My apologies if this was already mentioned on this topic.

I am still so shocked this bridge failed. Scenes we are witnessing seem straight out of a movie.

#55 Postby **angelwing** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 6:25 pm

My girlfriend is ok!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Lord!!!!!!
You don't know how relieved I am, phew.

Miss Mary · #56 Postby **Miss Mary** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 6:29 pm

angelwing - oh thank you Lord! That is the best news......

#57 Postby **TreasureIslandFLGal** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 6:53 pm

angelwing wrote:My girlfriend is ok!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Lord!!!!!!
You don't know how relieved I am, phew.

Glad to hear that!!! I was begining to get worried for her myself!!!

artist · #58 Postby **artist** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 6:58 pm

that is such good news angelwing!

southerngale · #59 Postby **southerngale** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:28 pm

So glad to hear that, angelwing!

#60 Postby **Stephanie** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:50 pm

I'm glad that everyone that has family and/or friends in MN has heard from them.

That bridge should've been repaired or additional support should've been added after that engineering report.

CNN reports major bridge collapse in Minnesota

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