[Alberta's Child]

That's a bizarre photo. What the heck would cause damage like that to a highway bridge? Every other section of bridge structure has been lifted out of place.

[Tiger Smack]

wind and waves

[lugsoul]

"What the heck would cause damage like that to a highway bridge?"

Storm surge. It lifts the concrete decking sections off the structure.

Ivan did the exact same thing to I-10 over Escambia Bay near Pensacola. Repairs to that section are still ongoing, and the portions that are open have only temporary spans.

[r9etb]

That's a bizarre photo. What the heck would cause damage like that to a highway bridge? Every other section of bridge structure has been lifted out of place

FWIW, each of the sections is built independent of the next, which explains why some sections survived and others didn't. Don't know what caused the sections to tip, but the amount of debris on the bridge deck seems to indicate a pretty significant current, so perhaps the water simply lifted the roadway right off the piers.

[jeffers]

"To: BurbankKarl

That's a bizarre photo. What the heck would cause damage like that to a highway bridge? Every other section of bridge structure has been lifted out of place."

Water doesn't compress.

When a wave lifts under the bridge, something must give.

Water doesn't compress.

Steel bolts have a finite tensile limit, so every other span popped loose to relieve the pressure.

There was an identical failure on the I-10 (coincidence? no) bridge across P-cola Bay last year with Ivan.

[CFC__VRWC]

The I-10 bridge over Escambia Bay in Pensacola had an almost identical pattern of damage when Ivan hit Pensacola last summer. The sections of the deck get slapped from underneath by the waves and the surge, and they separate at the expansion joints and get knocked off the support piers. The piers themselves are solidly embedded in the bedrock under the water. The deck slabs are much easier to replace than the piers are.

FDOT got the Escambia bridge reopened in a matter of weeks after Ivan passed through. I would imagine this bridge could be reopened much more quickly than most people would think. It will certainly be open to traffic again before there's a city for it to go to.