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.......
Yeah, I saw the guy (DFL) spouting his crap and spun over to something else.
I’m so tired of these political opportunists.....
I wonder who will be the first one to say that if we weren’t in the war with Iraq, there would be more money for infastructure. Someone will.
I’ll wage Keith Ellison. First ever muslim elected recently to congress from Minneapolis.
There is a lateral movement, and I assume, the first section to hit the water would be closest to the failure point.
If this is correct, then the original failure must have been located around the tower on the South bank. As viewed in the image (showing the largest view), that would the the top left side of the tower across the river.
On the right side of this image and also on the opposite side of the river, is the lock and dam. Now you got me curious, if this might not be connected in some way.
Good night. More prayers for the people of Minnesota and for the ones killed or injured in this tragedy.
Let the spin begin. It will be interesting.
There was a fatal bridge collapse in Texas in September of 2001 when a tow boat captain rammed a string of barges into a bridge.
Here’s a list of other recent bridge collpases: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/02/america/NA-GEN-US-Bridge-Collapse-History.php
Yes. Whatever side that was, it fought the failure first.
According to WCCO, CNN reporting water erosion caused piling (?) to fail.
Just got back from the Twins game.
Holy crap!!!
Heard the bridge had collapsed from the parking ramp attendant. We could see the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles from the 3rd floor of the ramp. Couldn’t see the bridge.
We went to the game. There was a short announcement at the beginning of the game. They said they would update us later. They didn’t give any details of how bad it was. They just gave road closings and said you had to leave downtown using 94. Which was the way we came in anyway.
Listened to the news on the way home. Just saw the pictures a couple minutes ago. Had no idea it was that bad.
I have speculated that he and “dear” Amy might!
It will be interesting to see how fast it happens.
Wasn’t that bridge in Caracas intentionally collapsed to avoid a pending accident?
Yup, what a night!
Yup, what a night!
Thankful you got to and from the game safely.
I suppose everything from now till who-knows-when will be
cancelled. The traffic snarls will be horrific.
Prayers continue for those who lost their lives and who
were injured. Such a tangle of metal and concrete!
I heard the same thing about the buses. The reporter said, “in addition to”, and I heard it on two separate stations. :^(
I pray those reports are wrong. This is just so unbelievably tragic.
And I am praising God that, so far, I know of no one that was on that bridge, at that time. And I am praying for those that were, have loved ones that were, or that they cannot account for.
Yeah, look at 1585.
I can see that first northern approach sidespan pier or truss letting go, flexing the cantilever over the north mainspan pier. It cracks over the pier, the stresses snap the other end of the mainspan and it drops straight down.
The truss system remaining over the north pier, overloaded and losing integrity, fails and leans to the west, taking that piece of the sidespan deck with it.
My gut likes it.
Question, what happened to that sidespan pier/truss? It’s accessible from land, and probably on relatively dtable ground, compared to the riverside piers.
That’s got to be someone’s speculation. No way they could conclude that yet.
The picture from 1,585 is viewing South.
I tend to agree with what you are saying. However, pay attention to the lock and dam on the right side of the image and on the far side of the river.
Prayers went up as soon as I heard.
That doesn't make sense. All the bridge pilings were on dry land. The bridge had no structural elements in the river.
They had a random "expert" on why said that that was the cause of a bridge collapse in New York State.
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