Bridge Collapse in Minnesota

[Nelson Atwell]

It pretty sad that 7 people died in this disaster. Looking at one picture there is a porta-potty sitting in the road. I'm wondering if some renovation was the cause of this, or if the bridge just was designed poorly.



It is amazing to me, that we are supposed to be most advanced civilization in history, yet we can't even build safe bridges. I remember a three-year old bridge in Ft Walton Beach, Florida being closed for six months a few years ago, because the bolts that held it together were rusting. Yet the Romans built bridges 2,000 years ago, designed for use with horse-drawn carts, and they are still used today with heavy trucks driving over them.



I used to drive over this bridge several times a week when I was living in Adana, Turkey. It was built around 114 A.D.



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Here is the wikipedia link for those interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Bridge_(Adana)

 

[TomT]

It's going to be a lot more then 7 deaths before it's all done. At least 20 people are thought to be missing. Really sad. The NTB estimates there are probably 500 bridges in our country with the same potential for collapse. Our tax dollars at work.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Gotta love overpaid engineers. They are unable to design a bridge that will last.





Tom

 

[A K]

All depends on the bridge. Some were made to last for eternity.



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[Jeff C]

Gotta love overpaid engineers. They are unable to design a bridge that will last.

I'm sure it would have lasted if it had been used as originally designed. I doubt it was designed to be an 8 lane bridge with a train beneath it.

 

[Frank Marano]

where did you get 7 deaths? Every place I have been reading says 4 confirmed....

 

[Nelson Atwell]

While you guys in the US were sleeping in the US, tha CNN site was saying 7. Thankfully, I guess there was a mistake.

 

[J Piroth]

I saw on CNN today that the bridge scored a 50 out of 120 when it was inspected three years ago.



I know nothing about grading bridges, but 42% was a pretty bad score on any test I ever took.

 

[Brian Hasledalen 2]

I live in minnesota about 20 miles from the bridge, they were doing resurfacing of the concrete, i dont feel this is what caused the collapse, i think the failure looks suspicions, im not a bridge engineer, but there is some footage of the bridge falling and it fell perfectly.... usually they would twist and rip apart this didn't happen... My heart goes out for all that died in the accident... I was just on the bridge 3 days ago...

 

[Frank Marano]

my guess is if they were working on it, it was weak at some point. All it would take is one side to go, then the rest would most likely just follow....

 

[George T]

Brian does have a very good point...........it all just gave out (both sides at one time?)....thats really suspicious to me......



It really sucks, many people are going through a hard time right now

 

[Tom Schindler]

Jeff C,



My comment was a rhetorical comment. It is easy to blame issues on labor, managment, engineering, etc. when it could be a combination of everything.



My heart truly aches for those that lost loved ones in that accident. The ones that died, while it is unfortunate, the ones that lost their loved ones are the ones that really suffer.





Tom

 

[Matt Pellowski]

Hey All.... The bridge was under construction for resurfacing.... nothing structural. Also to note... the bridge was built in 1967, but a few years back, it was retrofitted with an anti-icing system that automaticly dispensed anti-icing chemicals when the concrete temp reached a specific point.



It's sad... there are idiots already peddling crap on Ebay..

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bridge-MN-Pipe-NY-America-Is-Falling-Apart-T-shirt_W0QQitemZ150147798216QQihZ005QQcategoryZ15687QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem



I had finished work at 5:15PM that day in Eden Prairie... one of my techs lives in Roseville, and uses that route to commute. Luckily, he changed his route 6 weeks ago when construction started.



One other thing to note.... there is MORE footage out there... One of the engineers where I work stated he knows of someone that was on a dinner cruise boat on the river. Someone had footage of the entire thing from the river, and they called 911.... I'm told the Feds met them when the boat docked to retrieve the tape.

 

[Bill V]

I crossed that bridge about 5:45. It feel about 6:05. I haven't slept more than two hours since.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

BillV, look at it this way... you are a lucky guy. Someone is looking out for you. Enjoy that feeling and sleep better.



TJR

 

[Nelson Atwell]

BillV,



I have had closer calls than that. I just take it as a reminder that my time could come at any moment, but I also believe I am spared for some purpose. Something here is unfinished. It makes you appreciate the small things in life, and shows how unimportant things like money, job title, etc. are in the big scheme.



Since my daughter and her mom can't get along, I figure one of those unfinished things is to raise her alone and make sure she gets a good start in life. Perhaps she has some great thing she will accomplish, and I am just the path to get her there. I also think my job will have an impact and hopefully save the life of some UK or Canadian soldier in Afghanistan. We train the teams going there just before they leave on their NATO missions.

 

[Dreman]

The engineers that designed the bridge did so with the normal constraints we all have to deal with, especially budgetary constraints. And we are always pushing the limits of technology, trying to make the next most cost effective/attractive/long reaching design. None of the bridges made in the past had much of a clear span, but now we can span the entire Mississippi river without any supports in the middle to block river traffic. We push the limits to see how far they can be pushed, and sometimes we push too far. And engineers back then didn't have the same budget constraints since there was an enormous amount of slave labor available, and Italy and Turkey had plenty of rocks!



The biggest problem I've seen with bridge failures I've looked at in the past is the lack of redundancy. No matter how strong you think something is, it should have a backup, because people's lives are at stake. The World Trade Center lost an incredible number of supports at impact, but it stayed up because the inner core backed up the outer shell, and gave us time to get people out. Bridges will still fail, but backup structures can allow us to get people off before final collapse.

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

Could happen again...



Take a look at the bridges in State of WA

 

[Nelson Atwell]

I have seen structurally deficient bridges. The one that really scares me the the overpass in Oklahoma City on I-40 at the Reno Ave exit. At the west end of the span as you are looking at it from the North the concrete is just crumbling and you can see the rusted rebar exposed. This bridge has heavy traffic everyday, since it is a major east-west thoroughfare through OKC and is the feeder to most of the entrances to Tinker AFB.

 

[MJ L]

I thought this was a ST in the pic, but on second glance I believe it is an Expedition.







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