[XR7]

Thanks for keeping us posted.
So bird droppings and road salt corrosion did not play a part?

BTTT

[Nailbiter]

ping

[jeffers]

XR7 wrote:
Thanks for keeping us posted.
So bird droppings and road salt corrosion did not play a part?

***********

I’d guess road salt corrosion and possibly bird droppings probably did play a part, but it is impossible for me to say how large of a part at this point.

Regardless of where the triggering failure took place, metal fatigue, rust, corrosion and cracked welds would not have helped the bridge carry its gravity loads. But pinning the failure to one specific cause of weakening is beyond my ability.

Jim Trent has favored corrosion fatigue and cracking as significant causal factors in the past, and I tend to agree with that assessment, in theory at least.

I don’t have empirical data in this case to assess causes of component failure, but anything that weakens steel in fracture critical structures can’t be viewed as beneficial, whether the structure fails or not.