Posted on 08/01/2007 4:28:27 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
Just turned on the news. 35W bridge collapsed in the Mississippi River. Cars, trucks, semis.....
Fires burning, tanker trucks, at least one school bus, more than ten cars......
Just now breaking.......
Ditto about the Mac. Funny, I just posted the exact same statement about a camper, wind, and white-knuckles on another website. That bridge is WAY too long.
One windy day back in 1977 they made us get out of the camper and into the cab of the pick-up...all seven of us—two adults, three teenagers and two little ones.
That was as much terrorist stupidity as good police work: "On Monday, while FBI special agents were at the Jersey City facility to speak with personnel there, the Ryder clerk received a call from a man identified as Mohamed Salemeh. The latter demanded the return of his $400 deposit for the van in question, and the Ryder clerk arranged for him to return and collect the deposit on March 4, 1993. When Salemeh arrived, he was arrested." (from Answers.com).
I knew I would hear from you tonight.
creepy isnt it.
dark there now right?
Not yet, light enough, like a cloudy day, 8:40p.
Hard to believe a bridge could just collapse like that, but hopefully all the other bridges are safe.
Have they been accounted for by MNDOT?
There has to be a lot of trapped people there were bicycles and walkers too..
Not dark yet, we have another 1/2 hour or so to go.
I’m so greatful that your mother is safe!
Okay thanks. I have been missing her in the mornings. Never get to watch midday.
Thanks again.
You heard it here first....
This catastrophe will be pinned on........GLOBAL WARMING!
It is hot in Minneapolis today, about 90 deg, and if they find this was an expansion/buckling problem that caused the failure of the main span, then Al Gore will be all over it...
Looking at pictures of th original design it looks quite a flimsy affair. the main (Steel truss) span clears the river with no central pier, I am thinking it is the main span that failed and the other parts came down in concertina style once the balanci ng weight of the span was suddenly removed.
Not dark, yet. Normally, we still have light until 9:00-9:30.
I ust have replied to the wrong person. Sorry. I thought you said they weren’t investigating.
I guess he just wants us to be reassured it’s just good ol’ American engineering and construction incompetence and not something serious.
No, they didn't either. Their statement was that there was no reason yet to believe that this was intentional, but that they were monitoring the situation.
This is was the reporters then said was "DHS says it was definitely not terrorists".
Funny how people suddenly believe everything they hear from a reporter's mouth.
I thought this info may help everyone to get their heads around the kind of design values that are used in steel construction.
The steel members were more than likely to have been grade 36 steel. That means, it can hold 36 kips (36 thousand lbs per square inch) before it shears. It may even be grade 50 steel (50 kips) but due to the age it is unlikely. A single normal 3/4” Dia. heavy hex bolt will hold 9.3 kips (9 thousand lbs per square inch) in single shear. And most bridges have scores of bolts per connection. I don’t know if bolts or rivets were used however. Also every misc. steel member would also be 36ksi. Again this is not to say it wasn’t a structural failure, just want to give you some numbers.
Due to construction, the bridge was throttled back to one lane. That’s why there weren’t more vehicles on the bridge.
Is that a gut feeling?
500-foot span collapses
one lane each direction due to resurfacing project
500 feet each direction
how many vehicles could have been on there?
seems like not more than 50-60 and probably half that number
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.