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Breaking: Bridge Collapse in Minneapolis
KSTP TV 5/ME | 8/1/07 | Me

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.......


TOPICS: Breaking News; News/Current Events; US: Minnesota
KEYWORDS: 35w; breaking; bridge; bridgecollapse; bridges; btld; collapse; corrosion; engineering; infrastructure; jihad; minneapolis; mosques; mothman; prayerforminnesotans; rust; slownewsday; terroristattack; transportation; twincitiescell
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To: BurbankKarl

I heard that too!, but at the time I thought I was hearing things.


1,421 posted on 08/01/2007 8:01:11 PM PDT by Husker24
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To: Ramtek57
I agree with you about that bridge in Lake Charles.

I drove a big RV over it one time going to Breaux Bridge for the crawfish festival.

I came back by a different route.

1,422 posted on 08/01/2007 8:01:28 PM PDT by battlegearboat
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To: Gideon7
Thanks Gideon7 for the picture. I have driven over this bridge thousands of times and could not figure out what people were talking about. What scouring of bridge pillars?

One picture is worth a thousand words, and you showed us exactly what I was trying to say.

1,423 posted on 08/01/2007 8:01:33 PM PDT by Hunble (Islam is God's punishment!)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

“Texas and Arizona don’t experience -20 degree temperatures on an annual basis.”

Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Ohio, Penn., Indiana, Mich., Wisconsin, Illinois, Minn., North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and the entire country of Canada do.

This is the only bridge that fell over.


1,424 posted on 08/01/2007 8:01:57 PM PDT by Poser (Willing to fight for oil)
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To: RDTF
Greta just announced live Fox coverage will be all night long

So that they can loop the same footage over and over?

1,425 posted on 08/01/2007 8:01:57 PM PDT by OrangeDaisy
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To: AliVeritas

Hi. It’s been such a long time!

Prayers for these people who are dealing with this tragedy.


1,426 posted on 08/01/2007 8:03:11 PM PDT by luvie (Thompson)
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To: Straight Vermonter

Hmmm... well, yeah they do look like they’re in the water ;~)

Don’t believe everything you read I guess. ;~)


1,427 posted on 08/01/2007 8:03:28 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
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To: finnman69

Jamestown?


1,428 posted on 08/01/2007 8:03:40 PM PDT by BunnySlippers (Buy a Mac ...)
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To: Petronski

I understand :-). It’s just that our temps this summer are in the low 90s, and it’s miraculously cool. The thought of 90F contributing to a construction failure is jaw-dropping to those of us further south. Just goes to show what a wonderful and diverse nation we are.

FWIW, we “escaped” to MN last summer to cool off from Texas heat, and found to our dismay that they were having a 100F heat wave. It may be hotter there this summer than it has been so far here in Texas. (And no, it’s not global warming, it’s just nature having fun with us.)


1,429 posted on 08/01/2007 8:03:41 PM PDT by Jedidah
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To: OrangeDaisy

“So that they can loop the same footage over and over?”

They wouldn’t do it if people didn’t watch. I can only take so much repetition on a news story. Makes me crazy.


1,430 posted on 08/01/2007 8:04:51 PM PDT by listenhillary (¿Qué parter DE "illegal" ousted no entente?)
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To: Petronski
Again, though, I was not speaking about a bridge failing because of a 90+F heatwave. I was talking about that kind of heatwave combining with other defects to precipitate a failure.

I thought complex systems fail because of a combination of smaller factors which individually could not cause catastrophe alone.

In engineering systems (my experience is with nuclear reactor pressure vessels), there is usually a design factor of 2 to 3. This is different with aircraft due to weight concerns, but in other areas (like bridges) it would be very surprising if a low design factor was used. It is much more likely that fatigue failures, corrosion induced failures, or damage to a structural member due to construction caused this bridge collapse than that the ultimate strength was exceeded for any component.

1,431 posted on 08/01/2007 8:05:14 PM PDT by burzum (None shall see me, though my battlecry may give me away -Minsc)
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To: OrangeDaisy

I guess her announcement was meant to clarify that no, it will be live coverage.


1,432 posted on 08/01/2007 8:05:53 PM PDT by RDTF (Republicans believe every day is July 4th, but Democrats believe every day is April 15th. - Reagan)
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To: HairOfTheDog
Minnesota is dry this year, so the pillars were not in the water.

Check the date when those pictures were taken.

1,433 posted on 08/01/2007 8:06:10 PM PDT by Hunble (Islam is God's punishment!)
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To: Straight Vermonter; HairOfTheDog
Those pilings don't look like they are in the water to you?

NO. Not from a scouring standpoint. Caissons on the bank do not have the same scouring effect that a caisson in the middle of the river would have.

This bridge stood for over 40 years. If scouring were a problem it would have happened decades ago.

1,434 posted on 08/01/2007 8:07:07 PM PDT by Ramius (Personally, I give us... one chance in three. More tea?)
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To: Poser
I agree 90 degree weather is not a factor, the expansion would be minimal. I also agree extreme cold weather would be more detrimental.

Since it unknown at this time, what caused this collapse, nothing can be ruled out. I am certain when day dawns in about nine hours, some of the possibilities as to why this happened will be ruled out within twenty-four hours or two working days, or an answer could be found in the same time span.

The cause will be known within a matter of weeks, would be my best guess, from reading this thread, and listening to the news. But I am no expert, so take all I just typed with a grain of salt.

Prayers for all those affected, and extra prayer for the victims and their families.

1,435 posted on 08/01/2007 8:08:08 PM PDT by no-to-illegals (God Bless Our Men and Women in Uniform, Our Heroes.)
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To: HairOfTheDog

See picture at post 101. It appears that the arch is the middle of the span bearing on dual concrete columns tied together with concrete with a half arch on either side from the piles.

The picture shows at least one set of piles in the water. Scour could be a factor here.

If one set of piles went under due to scour, the bridge would tend to tear away, bringing other sections down with it. The wreckage shows that different things were happening in different sections. Some came down straight. Other sections tore and collapsed on their sides.

A failure in one of the beams at the top of the bridge would not have had this kind of wreckage as a result, due to redundancy of design and safety factors in loading.

This kind of catatrosphic failure indicates a cause at the lowest part of the bridge—in the very foundation of it.

Too early to tell—much investigation has to be done.


1,436 posted on 08/01/2007 8:08:27 PM PDT by exit82 (I have a gut feeling: Michael Chertoff is a jerk.)
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To: Hunble

Thanks. One of the interviews had reported that so I repeated it here.... I’m not quite sure why it’s vital for us to know one way or the other right now.


1,437 posted on 08/01/2007 8:08:59 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

More FReepmail your way... Nephew is safe and sound. Prayers up for all those involved...


1,438 posted on 08/01/2007 8:09:10 PM PDT by Ladysmith ((NRA, SAS) 9/11: Many of us REFUSE to Forget!!)
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To: no-to-illegals

“The cause will be known within a matter of weeks,”

Bingo. It’s going to take a while. All of the steel is still there so we will know in time.


1,439 posted on 08/01/2007 8:10:12 PM PDT by Poser (Willing to fight for oil)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

Where’s that confounded bridge?


1,440 posted on 08/01/2007 8:10:29 PM PDT by Rockitz (This isn't rocket science- Follow the money and you'll find the truth.)
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