Minnesota Bridge Collapses

[S O F I]

Video: http://video.aol.com/video/news-video-captures-bridge-collapse/1951579

Aug. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Workers were repairing corroded joints on Minnesota's busiest bridge when it collapsed into the Mississippi River yesterday, killing at least four people and leaving more than 20 missing, state officials said.

``A bridge in America shouldn't just fall down,'' U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, said today at a news conference. ``We have to get to the bottom of this.''

As many as 50 cars plunged into the river along with the six-story structure, authorities and eyewitnesses said. Divers are focusing on recovery rather than rescue, Minneapolis Fire Chief James Clack said. About 80 people were hurt.

Concerns about the eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, which connects downtown Minneapolis to its northern suburbs, are longstanding. Corroded bearings and steel joints have been a problem since 1990, said Khani Sahebjam, state transport engineer.

Crews were patching the road yesterday and working on the 40-year-old bridge's joints as part of a $9 million project.

The bridge carried about 140,000 vehicles a day. Two years ago, it was deemed ``structurally deficient,'' scoring four on a scale in which nine is the best. Engineers noted fatigue cracks.

``There was no call by anyone that it should be closed,'' said Governor Tim Pawlenty, a Republican. He ordered an immediate inspection today of all similarly designed bridges in Minnesota.

Forensic Engineers

The state also hired forensic engineers Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates to probe the collapse, he said. The same firm investigated problems in Boston's Big Dig highway tunnel project.

About 8 percent of Minnesota's bridges are ``structurally deficient,'' the state's Transportation Department said. About a quarter of the nation's 595,363 bridges have similar or worse ratings, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.

``Structurally deficient'' means a bridge should eventually be replaced and is safe for travel, Minnesota transportation officials said.

The bridge collapse was the worst outside of ship- or earthquake-caused events since a 1983 failure on Interstate 95 in Connecticut, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said.

Peters late today asked the Department of Transportation to review the National Bridge Inspection Program, saying the incident in Minnesota is ``unacceptable,'' according to an e- mailed statement. In an earlier letter, she urged all states to immediately inspect the 756 other similar steel deck truss bridges in the country.

Towering Span

The I-35 bridge buckled during bumper-to-bumper traffic in the early evening rush hour yesterday.

Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan said the river is about 8 feet (2.5 meters) deep below the bridge. He said emergency workers located ``several'' victims pinned in the wreckage.

``It is still a tremendously dangerous scene,'' he said at the news conference. Dolan said the FBI is involved in the investigation.

Peters promised $5 million to rebuild the bridge in an effort that may take one to two years. U.S. House Transportation Committee Chairman James Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat, said he will ask Congress for an additional $250 million in emergency relief for Minnesota.

Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives, will pass emergency legislation this week to provide $250 million for bridge repair. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate would consider the measure afterward.

``The Senate leadership stands together with Senator Amy Klobuchar and the entire Minnesota delegation, and will help Minneapolis get everything it needs in the aftermath of yesterday's tragedy,'' Reid said.

Year-Long Probe

The National Transportation Safety Board, which sent 19 people to the scene, said the agency's investigation will take about a year.

The loss of the bridge, which carries commercial vehicles and commuters, will have an economic impact, U.S. Senator Norm Coleman, a Minnesota Republican, said in an interview.

``It has a potential to be a great disruption,'' he said.

President George W. Bush said he will visit Minneapolis on Aug. 4.

The bridge near the University of Minnesota and the Metrodome stadium, where the Minnesota Twins baseball team played last night, stretched almost 2,000 feet. Three of its four sections gave way, collapsing into the water and onto a freight train on riverside tracks.

Freight Shipments

U.S. grain and freight shipments on the river probably won't be disrupted by the collapse because most cargo is loaded downstream, traders and a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said. The railroad affected operates only in Minnesota.

A March 2001 study by the state's transport agency found that the approach spans ``exhibited several fatigue problems, primarily due to unanticipated out-of-plane distortion of the girders. Concern about fatigue cracking in the deck truss is heightened by a lack of redundancy in the main truss system.''

The agency recommended that the deck be replaced by 2020 or beyond, Pawlenty said.

``We thought we had done all we could,'' Minnesota bridge inspector Dan Dorgan said. ``Obviously, something went terribly wrong.''

 

[PuffnScruff]

i hope you aren't just now hearing about this

 

[S O F I]

I did actually hear about it today. What do you make of this?

 

[EDouble]

Crazy shit. s14 was 2 blocks away

 

[PuffnScruff]

I did actually hear about it today. What do you make of this?

it was the work of terrorist. we should kill them all!!!:fury:


after this i will never be able to think that i am safe crossing over a bridge....and i have to cross over them everyday, there is no avoiding it where i live. any which way i come home from any direction i have to pass over or under a bridge, and from what i understand many of them were considered in the same poor condition as that one.

 

[S O F I]

Well, if you suddenly stop posting, I'll pour a 40oz out for you.

 

[EDouble]

Never safe on man made road systm use the Lords
you take a chance every time

 

[S. Fourteen]

I heard crazy sirens so I knew something was up and my co-worker came and told me that the bridge had collapsed. Minnesota Department of Transportation does a good job of keeping the roads here ice free during the winter and they do that by using ice melt salt. The chemical will slowly eat away metal over time and the water from the melted ice gets in the cracks of the roads, when the tempeture falls during the night time, the water expands and destroys roads. The collapsed bridge was giving a warning in 1990. It managed to stay up with patch works here and there but since Minneapolis is seeing a lot of development - with construction comes big trucks. I think it finally gave out during the rush our.

It was bumper to bumper when it collapsed, and it was probably bumper to bumper at every other point of exit in Minn. - now imagine that load trying to get out of the city. Add an extra hour for commute, plus 30 minutes for a different route based on bridge ratings.

 

[S O F I]

Yeah, we have this long ass bridge here that floats on water, I get scared (extra scared when high) when I drive across it.

 

[Rahim]

whats next...the london bridge...no jk lol

this was something that was bound to happen without anyone ever expecting it.....thats whats surprising about it..

 

[EDouble]

ethical wise ppl could just swim acros the river this society doesnt do this they are hooked on automobiels & convenance's like the bridges etc.Talk about being self reliet find this shit to do take another route, how about Fuck that and jump in the Miss'isip as a man. who really controsl that life?

 

[S. Fourteen]

Are you kidding me? The river smells like raw sewage. I'm not swimming in it.

 

[_carmi]

ethical wise ppl could just swim acros the river this society doesnt do this they are hooked on automobiels & convenance's like the bridges etc.Talk about being self reliet find this shit to do take another route, how about Fuck that and jump in the Miss'isip as a man. who really controsl that life?

ewww. those waters are dirtyyy.

but yeah something similar happened here in mtl a while ago. (boulevard de la concorde ifi remember correctly) it was you know those bridge that go over streets. (dunno what they are called). anyways it collapses. but us it was due to our government not doing its job.

r.i.p. for the ones who died.