Overpass north of Montreal collapses, trapping at least 1 vehicle: reports

CP via Yahoo! ^ | 9/30/06 | Canadian Press

[conservative in nyc]

Quebec police say an overpass north of Montreal has collapsed.

All-news channel LCN is reporting that at least one vehicle is trapped in the rubble and that five people have been injured.

Quebec provincial police say the overpass on Boulevard de la Concorde gave out early this afternoon, crashing onto Highway 19.

Emergency crews are on the scene.

Highway 19 connects Laval to the island of Montreal.

[GMMAC]

PING!

[Fatuncle]

Leaving something out would be more likely to contribute to a collapse, I would think.

"And the secret of Cheops' pyramid
is that the contractor did
Cheops out of several million"

[conservative in nyc]

As best I can tell (since most of what I've found is in French and I'm relying on computer-generated translations), the Souvenir Boulevard overpass collapse was blamed on the engineers not properly communicating with each other. Maybe the same thing happened here.

The Souvenir Boulevard viaduct was under construction at the time of the collapse. Here's a photo of what that first viaduct collapse looked like back then:

NOTE: NOT THE CURRENT COLLAPSE

[TXnMA]

I hope they check for anything like residual chemicals or corrosives.

My guess is "corrosive" -- AKA "de-icing salt"...

[fanfan]

How horrible.

[conservative in nyc]

From TCN (via Babelfish):

To 11h39 this morning, a citizen had announced the presence of concrete blocks on motorway 19 and another had telephoned to the 911 to bring back a demarcation on the roadway (see another text).

Original French:

À 11h39 ce matin, un citoyen avait signalé la présence de blocs de béton sur l'autoroute 19 et un autre avait téléphoné au 911 pour rapporter une démarcation sur la chaussée (voir autre texte).

[Old Professer]

You don't suppose this had anything to do with this, do you?

[Rightwing Canuck]

Indeed it is. In fact, Montreal (and Quebec as a whole) is infested with the mob. And we're not talking Goodfellas, New York style mob guys - we're talking Sicilians straight from the motherland, bringing in huge shipments of cocaine and heroin.

It's actually a very interesting story, for those interested in orgranized crime. A new book has just come out, called THE 6TH FAMILY, that explains it quite a bit (also, NORTHERN CONNECTION is a pretty good primer on the Montreal-New York-Sicily link).

[conservative in nyc]

More from LCN (via Babelfish):

A citizen had announced a demarcation on the ground

A citizen telephoned at the 911 few minutes before the depression of the viaduct of the boulevard of the Harmony to announce a demarcation on the motorway, just at the place where the viaduct broke.

The person at the end of the wire said to him that information was going to be transmitted to the ministry for Transport, which was going to carry out the checks.

A few minutes later, the viaduct broke down. Concrete blocks had also been located on the roadway towards 11h30.

"It is regrettable that the motorway was not closed. It is a description which would have made it possible to save lives ", explains Julien, of Laval, which placed the call to the 911.

One is unaware of always the exact number of wounded and if the incident made victims.

Original French Link.

Is there another English translation for the word démarcation? Crack, perhaps?

[conservative in nyc]

Maybe, but looking at a map, the construction area in question is closer to Autroute 15 than 19, where the bridge collapse occurred.

[Michael Goldsberry]

FNC just reported two fatalities.

[conservative in nyc]

Probably based on this:
Montreal police fear at least 2 deaths in highway overpass collapse (CP)

There are two cars trapped under the overpass. Prayers up.

[sweetiepiezer]

Prayers offered.

[RikaStrom]

How horrible.

Prayers offered.

[conservative in nyc]

[CaptainCanada]

I recall several previous building failures in Quebec including the Olympic stadium which needed extensive repairs.
Someone needs to check into their engineering, materials or workmanship...

[fanfan]

Although I am Canadian, I do not parle Francais.

Maybe Gold State can help?

[conservative in nyc]

According to news reports, concrete was seen on Highway 19 near the overpass around 11:30, and someone called 911 after seeing the overpass buckle (i guess that's what demarcation means) 2 inches or so while driving across the overpass shortly before it failed. The Quebec authorities had some notice that something was wrong and had a little bit of time to react.

[Toby06]

They have a shorter lifespan than any other form of human construction.

Not true!! Bridges have a service life of on average 40 years and most go well beyond that with proper maintenance. Urban public housing is generally uninhabitable after 10-20 years.