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.......
I heard that too!, but at the time I thought I was hearing things.
I drove a big RV over it one time going to Breaux Bridge for the crawfish festival.
I came back by a different route.
One picture is worth a thousand words, and you showed us exactly what I was trying to say.
“Texas and Arizona don’t experience -20 degree temperatures on an annual basis.”
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Ohio, Penn., Indiana, Mich., Wisconsin, Illinois, Minn., North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and the entire country of Canada do.
This is the only bridge that fell over.
So that they can loop the same footage over and over?
Hi. It’s been such a long time!
Prayers for these people who are dealing with this tragedy.
Hmmm... well, yeah they do look like they’re in the water ;~)
Don’t believe everything you read I guess. ;~)
Jamestown?
I understand :-). It’s just that our temps this summer are in the low 90s, and it’s miraculously cool. The thought of 90F contributing to a construction failure is jaw-dropping to those of us further south. Just goes to show what a wonderful and diverse nation we are.
FWIW, we “escaped” to MN last summer to cool off from Texas heat, and found to our dismay that they were having a 100F heat wave. It may be hotter there this summer than it has been so far here in Texas. (And no, it’s not global warming, it’s just nature having fun with us.)
“So that they can loop the same footage over and over?”
They wouldn’t do it if people didn’t watch. I can only take so much repetition on a news story. Makes me crazy.
I thought complex systems fail because of a combination of smaller factors which individually could not cause catastrophe alone.
In engineering systems (my experience is with nuclear reactor pressure vessels), there is usually a design factor of 2 to 3. This is different with aircraft due to weight concerns, but in other areas (like bridges) it would be very surprising if a low design factor was used. It is much more likely that fatigue failures, corrosion induced failures, or damage to a structural member due to construction caused this bridge collapse than that the ultimate strength was exceeded for any component.
I guess her announcement was meant to clarify that no, it will be live coverage.
Check the date when those pictures were taken.
NO. Not from a scouring standpoint. Caissons on the bank do not have the same scouring effect that a caisson in the middle of the river would have.
This bridge stood for over 40 years. If scouring were a problem it would have happened decades ago.
Since it unknown at this time, what caused this collapse, nothing can be ruled out. I am certain when day dawns in about nine hours, some of the possibilities as to why this happened will be ruled out within twenty-four hours or two working days, or an answer could be found in the same time span.
The cause will be known within a matter of weeks, would be my best guess, from reading this thread, and listening to the news. But I am no expert, so take all I just typed with a grain of salt.
Prayers for all those affected, and extra prayer for the victims and their families.
See picture at post 101. It appears that the arch is the middle of the span bearing on dual concrete columns tied together with concrete with a half arch on either side from the piles.
The picture shows at least one set of piles in the water. Scour could be a factor here.
If one set of piles went under due to scour, the bridge would tend to tear away, bringing other sections down with it. The wreckage shows that different things were happening in different sections. Some came down straight. Other sections tore and collapsed on their sides.
A failure in one of the beams at the top of the bridge would not have had this kind of wreckage as a result, due to redundancy of design and safety factors in loading.
This kind of catatrosphic failure indicates a cause at the lowest part of the bridge—in the very foundation of it.
Too early to tell—much investigation has to be done.
Thanks. One of the interviews had reported that so I repeated it here.... I’m not quite sure why it’s vital for us to know one way or the other right now.
More FReepmail your way... Nephew is safe and sound. Prayers up for all those involved...
“The cause will be known within a matter of weeks,”
Bingo. It’s going to take a while. All of the steel is still there so we will know in time.
Where’s that confounded bridge?
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