To: PghBaldy
It looks like the two main pillars (struts?) are gone. How the heck did that happen? How could that happen?
6 posted on
08/14/2018 4:28:43 AM PDT by
wbarmy
(I chose to be a sheepdog once I saw what happens to the sheep.)
To: wbarmy
It looks like the two main pillars (struts?) are gone. How the heck did that happen? How could that happen? The pillars appear to be poured concrete. Concrete is only strong in compression. As soon as any side load is placed on those pillars, they crumble.
As to the flashes, my speculation is that like most bridges, they make a handy place to run power, water, and/or gas lines from one side to the other, so the flashes could be high tension power lines being snapped by the collapsing bridge.
Given the age and construction materials involved, I think you'll find that when the failure analysis is completed, it was a weakened concrete pylon that failed, not a terrorist attack.
31 posted on
08/14/2018 5:10:29 AM PDT by
Yo-Yo
(Is the /sarc tag really necessary?)
To: wbarmy
"It looks like the two main pillars (struts?) are gone."
Piers. And transoms rest on the piers and provide bearing for the beams.
34 posted on
08/14/2018 5:11:11 AM PDT by
familyop
("Welcome to Costco. I love you." - -Costco greeter in the movie, "Idiocracy")
To: wbarmy
64 posted on
08/14/2018 7:56:14 AM PDT by
BenLurkin
(The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
To: wbarmy
.
Compression failures are always sudden and catastrophic.
Tension failures usually give abundant warning, except when they’re caused by quakes.
71 posted on
08/14/2018 9:43:19 AM PDT by
editor-surveyor
(Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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