Breaking: Bridge Collapse in Minneapolis

KSTP TV 5/ME | 8/1/07 | Me

[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.......

[rwfromkansas]

How does a whole bridge collapse?

This is just horrible.

[Strategerist]

Putting on my tinfoil hat—too many bridge collapses lately!!

You have any statistical evidence of a drastic increase in bridge collapses lately?

Heck when I was a kid in the late 70s, a fairly substantial bridge over the Choptank River in Denton MD collapsed, right after a school bus went over it.

[defconw]

Sure thing big guy!

[RDTF]

he’s such a hottie

[Shortstop7]

Yeah, talking about need for thorough investigation.

H&C are doing a good job with coverage.

[HairOfTheDog]

My point was that they ARE doing just that. However, they are NOT informing us of just that. You however feel the need to convey the companies public line. Fine. It is a free country.

Well, it seems like a reasonable company line... it beats a rambling stream of consciousness press release every time a new thought occurs to them. ;~)

[Petronski]

That kind of temp doesn't effect bridges though.

There's no kind of existing bridge defect that could be aggravated by a spell of 90F temperatures?

That seems like a bold statement to me.

[2111USMC]

Shudder!

Bridges don’t normally bother me, but just looking at that picture gives me the willies!

That sucker has way too much elevation.

[Terriergal]

So... yes you can see it from the bridge that collapsed (before it collapsed I mean)?

I was sure that was the bridge I was on last week, they’ve had it down to 1 lane for a while and it was awful. But I thought it was made of concrete, not steel.

[CharacterCounts]

One was completed in 1929 and a second span in 67. Which one collapsed?

Even so, faulty engineering shows up well before 40 years.

[txhurl]

No way!

[Atlas Sneezed]

That’s a really crappy looking bridge.

Probably go back to the 50s.

[Terriergal]

I always think of the guy who fell in the concrete footing when it was just poured, and died there.

[mplsconservative]

I’m a local. This was the 40 year old span.

[yorkie]

Thank you, trussell! What a beautiful post for this thread of such horrible news!

[Ben Chad]

Merci

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Heat+construction+onelane+rush hour=Disaster.

[mplsconservative]

1967.

[Guenevere]

He’s suspicious.

[CharacterCounts]

Thanks.