Ugly wicked Disaster

[yoopr]

I've crossed this bridge many times and it couldn't have come at a worse time-Rush hour in The Cities.

http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_213191448.html

[Useless]

Good Night!! :shock: :shock: :shock:

Any word on what the cause was, Yooper??

[yoopr]

All I know is that they were working on the Bridge
I'm afraid there are going to be many major casualties

[KATMANN]

I am watching it on Fox News now..... INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!

Prayers go out the people involved.....

[Useless]

All I know is that they were working on the Bridge
I'm afraid there are going to be many major casualties

I don't see how there couldn't be.

We had a bridge down near Harllingen, Tx. collapse afrer it had been struck by a barge being pushed by a tugboat. People were killed in that, and form the looks of things, this one is far worse.

[yoopr]

Aug 1, 2007 6:56 pm US/Central

I-35W Bridge Collapse Into Mississippi River
Slideshow: I-35W Bridge Collapse
(WCCO) Minneapolis The Interstate 35W Mississippi River bridge near University Avenue has collapsed into the river.

Both the northbound and southbound lanes of 35W are lying in the Mississippi River.

There are multiple cars in the river and a couple cars on fire. According to one witness, there was a school bus full of children on the bridge.

Cars are still on the bridge.

Tons of concrete have collapsed and people are injured. Survivors are being carried up the riverbank.

Some people are stranded on parts of the bridge that aren't completely in the water.

A tractor-trailer is on fire at the collapse scene.

Some cars are still precariously perched on the bridge. Sections of the bridge are mangled, some are pointing up in the air and some are in the river.

"My truck got completely torn in half," said a witness who was on the bridge when it collapsed. "The bridge started shaking and it went down fast."

"It is just horrific," said witness Marilyn Franzen, who saw the bridge collapse. Franzen said she saw a school bus that managed to stop before the going over the edge of the bridge that she said was carrying 20-30 children between the ages of 8 and 12 years old.

According to witnesses, cars are crushed and mangled under the bridge where it collapsed onto the shore of the river. Street signs also crushed cars.

The road has been under construction since the beginning of the summer.

Stay tuned to WCCO.com and WCCO-TV for more information on this breaking news story.

[KATMANN]

Homeland security just said NO signs of terrorist.....

[yoopr]

This is deja Vu of the Oakland Collapse minus the Earthquake.

[Popeye]

This stuff is terrible. All we can do is pray for the families. And the people on scene

[Smokeeater]

Those barges are heck on bridges. Useless you remember a few years back when that barge hit the I-40 wb over the Arkansas River near Sallisaw Ok?

[Useless]

I'm just at a loss to understand what would have caused the bridge to toally collapse.

Terrorism??
Homeland Security says no, and to my knowledge, no group had claimed credit for it....also, it doesn't seem to be the likely location for a terrorist attack.

Collision??
From what I've heard, no one has thus far mentioned any type of collision, unless it happened earlier, and it went unreported.

Construction Work??
There are those of you out there who know something about bridge construction. I don't, but I am at a loss to understand how even that could cause it to collapse.

All I can do is keep my prayers and meditations going!!

[Twilight Flyer]

7 dead as of this morning's report...more casualties expected and people are still missing.

I still have to ask. How? Bridges simply do not just collapse like this. This one pancaked down, indicating structural weakness or damage on both ends that caused a simultaneous structure failure, allowing it to fall. That doesn't just 'happen.' I'm saying it may not have been terrorism, but I have my doubts that it was an accident.

[K.POP]

Homeland security just said NO signs of terrorist.....

sounds like it was just the nature of the bridge, since they where saying it was 40+ yrs. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family's.

I see there are 2 bridges there. Is that the main bridge or is just the othe side of I-35W? only been up that way once awhile back.

[yoopr]

That's the main 35W Bridge. There are quite a few bridges crossing the Mississippi in the Cities.

[Useless]

Homeland security just said NO signs of terrorist.....

sounds like it was just the nature of the bridge, since they where saying it was 40+ yrs. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family's.

I see there are 2 bridges there. Is that the main bridge or is just the othe side of I-35W? only been up that way once awhile back.

A question:

If the bridge is 40+ years olld, that would have it dating back to the 1960's, which, in the life of a properly constructed bridge, isn't so old, is it??

Just Asking!!

[driver67373]

Homeland security just said NO signs of terrorist.....

sounds like it was just the nature of the bridge, since they where saying it was 40+ yrs. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family's.

I see there are 2 bridges there. Is that the main bridge or is just the othe side of I-35W? only been up that way once awhile back.

A question:

If the bridge is 40+ years olld, that would have it dating back to the 1960's, which, in the life of a properly constructed bridge, isn't so old, is it??

Just Asking!!

Not old at all...the Brooklyn Bridge is approaching 100 years old. The Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Bay was built in the 1930's during the great depression. Those are just a few examples. Of course, those bridges and others like them have full time dedicated maintenance crews. Those bridges are constantly maintained and therefore are in better shape than some "newer" bridges. I used to be a bridge inspector and something that could cuase a structural collapse of that magnitude would be so blatantly obvious to the naked eye it couldn't be ignored. Now if it's scour, that is a totally different issuse altogether. I don't think we've ever seen a disaster of this magnitude before that was not due to the fault of a pilot or ship. The Tacomos Narrows bridge comes to mind but that was decades ago and every one got off of it. It fell apart slowly. The inspectors and engineers have a long, arduous time ahead of them to piece this complex puzzle back together. Right now we only can speculate, and speculation will get us nowhere.

[driver67373]

Correction, the Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883...that makes it over 120 years old.

[Useless]

Homeland security just said NO signs of terrorist.....

sounds like it was just the nature of the bridge, since they where saying it was 40+ yrs. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family's.

I see there are 2 bridges there. Is that the main bridge or is just the othe side of I-35W? only been up that way once awhile back.

A question:

If the bridge is 40+ years olld, that would have it dating back to the 1960's, which, in the life of a properly constructed bridge, isn't so old, is it??

Just Asking!!

Useless
A few questions & comments here, if it's okay!!

Not old at all...the Brooklyn Bridge is approaching 100 years old. The Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Bay was built in the 1930's during the great depression. Those are just a few examples. Of course, those bridges and others like them have full time dedicated maintenance crews. Those bridges are constantly maintained and therefore are in better shape than some "newer" bridges. I used to be a bridge inspector and something that could cuase a structural collapse of that magnitude would be so blatantly obvious to the naked eye it couldn't be ignored. Now if it's scour, that is a totally different issuse altogether.

Allow me to confess my ignorance here:
What is a "scour??....also, what role would that play in this situation, or a similar one??

I don't think we've ever seen a disaster of this magnitude before that was not due to the fault of a pilot or ship.

Not that I can recall!! From what I know, this is not an area prone to earthquakes, but could some type of gradual shifting of geological formations play a part here?

The Tacomos Narrows bridge comes to mind but that was decades ago and every one got off of it. It fell apart slowly. The inspectors and engineers have a long, arduous time ahead of them to piece this complex puzzle back together.

Right now we only can speculate, and speculation will get us nowhere.

I agree with you 100% on this point. My heart goes out to those who dies, and their family, friends, and loved ones.

[driver67373]

Scour is the process by which water begins to erode away the riverbed at the foundation of the piers (the piers are the vertical supports that go from the water up to the bridge). Overtime, the force of the water can erode away enough material that the foundation weakens and becomes lose, if you will. Worst case secenario is that the piers topple over, of course causing the supported structure to collapse. Scouring is a very slow process and is much more difficult to assess and keep track of because since the foundation is under water, in most cases one must ucs a SCUBA diver to check it out. Scour is not much of a problem in slow-flowing streams but tends to occur in steams where the water moves very rapidly and with great force. Given that the Mississippi flows very gently I doubt scour is the culprit in this case. But only time will tell.

[yoopr]

I'm not a structural engineer, obviously, but what I think when they find the cause it will be because of a stress fracture that finally couldnt take the weight load, plus the fact it's one of those 2 column supports. They did this because of barge traffic
This particular bridge you see in photos or on tv don't really show how big this bridge is.