11 towers on (Kinzua) Viaduct collapse(wind, old closed bridge, no injuries, photos)

After standing tall across the Kinzua Gorge for more than a century, 11 towers on the Kinzua Viaduct went crashing into the valley below around 3:15 p.m. Monday.

"It appears as though a high gust of wind or a tornado has hit," said Steven Brode of W.M. Brode Construction Co., the contractors hired by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to renovate the structurally-deteriorating viaduct.

"The bridge has sustained some damage," said Donald Main, assistant director of the Bureau of State Parks, early Monday afternoon. He added that crews were headed to the scene to evaluate the damage, and no further details were available.

Eugene Comoss, chief engineer with the DCNR, said late Monday evening that preliminary reports from engineers on the scene indicate that six towers remain standing on the side of the park toward the entrance, while three still stand on the other side.

"What a disaster," he said. "Where the concrete pedestals are -- it snapped right there at the bottom. It went right over at the concrete piers."

He said crews will begin cleaning up today, and he will be at the site Wednesday morning to start the assessment of the damage.

Gene Strecht, regional engineer for facilities, design and construction for DCNR, said about 50 percent of the bridge is down. "It probably went down like dominos," he said.

While none of the workmen on the contractor's crew were injured in the collapse, one park employee did not fare as well. Earl Kilmer, local expert on the statistics of the viaduct and it's history, took refuge from the storm in a maintenance building at the Kinzua Bridge State Park.

A tree fell on the building, and Kilmer suffered a broken leg. Reports indicated that emergency crews experienced difficulties reaching Kilmer because of trees down in the area. Workers had to cut trees away to free Kilmer from the wreckage. No information as to his condition was available Monday night.

"The crews are safe," Brode said, explaining work was stopped Monday morning because of the rain and high winds. "We evacuated the site," he said, adding that fallen trees and downed power lines made the area unsafe for the workers. "And the winds are still blowing."

"It's a disaster area," said Barrett Clark, park manager. "I'm sick about it. It was a historical structure -- one of a kind. Luckily nobody was injured."

Workers have been at the viaduct since January, mapping out structural damage caused by age and wear. Brode's crews began work in February to return the structure to a useable condition.

In June of 2002, the DCNR closed the viaduct to the Knox & Kinzua excursion train. In August of 2002, the DCNR banned pedestrians from the walkways as well. Following preliminary DCNR inspections which showed areas of 100 percent loss to rust, engineers determined that a strong-enough gust of wind could create enough lateral pressure to topple the 6,715,000-pound viaduct.

"When the wind strikes the bridge it shifts the center of gravity, which in turn increases the weight on one side of the structure and reduces it on the other," explained Clark last year.

Dr. August Freda, engineer of metallurgy and former instructor at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, said the wind could very likely have been the cause of the collapse.

He also opined that work on both ends of the structure may have caused additional pressure on the center of the structure. "Without being there, it's hard to tell," Freda said.

Completed in 1882, the viaduct was once capable of holding the 511-ton Big Boy, the biggest steam engine in the world. The viaduct, at 301 feet high and 2,053 feet long, is the forth largest in the nation.

Uh oh, looks like some are already going to try and get the taxpayers to rebuild it. Its only use was(would be) as a historical tourist attraction.

http://www.bradfordera.com/news2.html

Devlin: 'I'm just shocked'

By MARCIE SCHELLHAMMER / Era Reporter
A part of the Kinzua Viaduct has been destroyed, and preliminary reports indicate it cannot be simply returned to its previous splendor.

In the hours shortly after the collapse, engineers with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources had voiced hopes that the towers would be in good enough shape that they could be stood back up to their place in history. However, photos show it would not be possible.

"After everything that's been done and all the money that's been spent," said Linda Devlin of the Allegheny National Forest Vacation Bureau. "We were starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

"Oh my God."

Devlin has been one of the forerunners in a local grassroots effort to save the Kinzua Viaduct from the ravages of time -- an effort that may be in vain after Monday's storms.

Shortly after 3 p.m. Monday afternoon, 11 of the 20 towers of the viaduct collapsed into the gorge below.

"I just hope it's something that can be fixed," Devlin said. "I'm just shocked. I'm just sick. What can you do?"

State Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint, echoed Devlin's dismay at the news.

"That's so crucial to our tourism," he said. "We've been pushing hard for (the rehabilitation). That's terrible."

Causer said he was going to the site this morning, "I have to see for myself. I have to go see it."

Former State Rep. Ken Jadlowiec took time away from sandbagging the area behind his own home to speak to The Era.

"I think it's sad because so many people visit the area to see it," he said. "It's just another setback we didn't need.

"It could be a terrible loss to this area," he said.

"Oh no," said Debbie Lunden of the McKean County Planning Commission. "I'm in shock. I never thought about it. The weather was just so bad. I never considered ...

"This is definitely a disaster," she added. "What about our documentary? I guess it will be the history of the bridge now."

The documentary to which she referred is a half-hour documentary already in the works to document the bridge and its rehabilitation, as well as the stories behind it.

Devlin and engineer Dr. August Freda visited The Era Monday night to view exclusive aerial photos obtained by Era Chief Photographer Francie Long and pilot Ray Lewis.

"It's just a twisted mess," Freda said. "You won't bring that back up.

"It looks like it just sheered right off," he said.

"It stood through everything," Devlin said emotionally. She said the most frustrating part of the whole thing is the repair work was moving forward at a good pace.

"After how many years of talking about it, it's finally happening," she said. "It was being repaired. We were at the point where we were going uphill."

As far as the aftermath of the collapse, Causer said he'll be pushing for any assistance available from the state and from federal sources.

"We'll have to survey the damage and go from here," he said. Eugene Comoss, chief engineer for the DCNR, added that the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency has been in contact with the DCNR regarding the collapse, but had no other information.

The ANF Vacation Bureau, along with the Planning Commission, has been part of an on-line effort to gain public support for the viaduct. People from across the nation and throughout the world have sent responses telling of what the viaduct means to them.

Late Monday night, Devlin sent along one of the responses she had just received.

"That is a annual trip for our family, and our guests. Please save the bridge," wrote Judy Hagerman of Westmoreland County.

If a storm was in the area, I suspect a strong microburst, looking at the photos, you don't see the typical spiral track that tornados leave. I would say a gust of wind took it out. the latice work on the towers acted like a sail and increased the "stress" on the week areas. The crew already suspected this may happen, so it isn't a suprise.

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