“A questions for the Civil Engineers & Designers out there. Is it possible that the combination of rush hour traffic (bumper to bumper maximizing the number of vehicles), lanes being closed (maximize the load to one side), years of potential neglect and the vibration of a passing freight train caused overstressing of a “weak point” that caused a cascading effect of popped rivets, etc. that would have led to catastrophic failure?”
All good questions. However, I can’t stress enough how much over design and redundancy goes into a major structural project. They would have taken into account the loads you mentioned and then increased it many times over to ensure safety. I’m not saying that it can’t happen, but people dedicate lives to thinking about those kinds of scenarios you mentioned. Also, it may not have been the steel, it could have just as easily been a change in soil conditions at the supports in the water (I think I saw midpoint supports).
“A questions for the Civil Engineers & Designers out there. Is it possible that the combination of rush hour traffic (bumper to bumper maximizing the number of vehicles), lanes being closed (maximize the load to one side), years of potential neglect and the vibration of a passing freight train caused overstressing of a “weak point” that caused a cascading effect of popped rivets, etc. that would have led to catastrophic failure?”
All those questions asked of you make me think about the gazillion year old Tappan Zee Bridge in Westchester, which has needed to be replaced for ages, but the rich bast!rds in Westchester and Rockland don’t want their views of the Hudson impacted. Hope they don’t mind all the bodies washing up on their shores...