Freeway collapse in Minneapolis

[The_Darkness]

I've been over that bridge quite a number of times....it's weird seeing it like that.

So far no one I know has turned up missing or injured, so I'll count them all among the blessed.

 

[Anniejustagirl]

What a tragedy... all good thoughts for no more fatalities.

 

[matriarch]

Latest report here is 7 dead, and the expectation, when rescue operations resume in daylight, is that number will rise.

Thank god the train that was crushed underneath wasn't carrying passengers or the number would be much, much higher.

 

[MrsDeathlynx]

I dislike going over bridges, I think it's my fear of not being in control when I'm in water, I can swim but have issues being over my head...Anyways my thoughts go out to any involved and bless those who are helping because they are the ones that are going to make a major difference.

 

[Chantilyvamp]

*sighs*

'and the world rains souls into the rainbow. May they rest in peace'

 

[S-Des]

Okay, that's a major nightmare for me. I used to hold my breath going over bridges.

I used to have tons of nightmares about bridges. I have both a fear of heights and I'm not the best swimmer, so they always freak me out (the big ones). This is terribly sad.

 

[Lisa Denton]

On Wednesday, August 1, 2007, the bridge failed catastrophically at 6:05 p.m. CDT (2305 GMT) during the evening rush hour, causing 50 or more vehicles, their occupants, and several construction workers to fall into the river or to its banks.[27][28][29] Several vehicles caught fire.[30] In addition, a portion of the bridge fell onto a freight train sitting beneath the structure. Several train cars were crushed, but there were no injuries on the train.[31]
Road construction had been ongoing on for several weeks prior to the collapse[32][28] reducing traffic to two lanes traveling in each direction. Shortly before the incident, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) announced that it would reduce the bridge to one lane in each direction during the late evenings of July 31 and August 1.[33]
Over 60 people were reported injured in the collapse, many of them severely, while at least nine died[34][35] and 20 are missing at this time.[3] Drivers were stranded on parts of the collapsed bridge that were not submerged.[36] Some 60 children, aged four to 14, were riding a school bus that was on the bridge at the time of the collapse, returning from a field trip. The bus made it most of the way across the bridge before the roadway collapsed a short distance behind the vehicle.[37]
The cause of the collapse remains unknown. A 2001 Mn/DOT report indicates weakness at the joints of the steel that held the concrete deck above the river, due to "unanticipated out of plane distortion" of the steel girders. The report also noted a concern about lack of redundancy in the main truss system. [38] According to a witness on Fox News Channel who had driven onto the bridge prior to its collapse, there were holes on the road deck as repair of the bridge deck was in progress.[39]

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This is what I saw on Wiki news I think.
9 dead, 60 injured, 20 missing.
Since some of the injuries are severe the death toll could rise from that, and of course some of the missing may not have been there, so the 20 missing number may fall, but of the missing who were there, not much hope for survivors. It is now a recovery search.
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They had this lil funky sat image pic:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/LisaDenton/Minneapolis_I-35W_map1.jpg

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I didn't like thier sat image so I brought up my own, not morbid curiousity so much as confusion of the "truss bridge" phrase and stuff, here's a few.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/LisaDenton/1.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/LisaDenton/2.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/LisaDenton/3.jpg

Just to clarify on my images the Cedar Ave Bridge (undamaged) is the one on the right and the I-35 Bidge (collapsed) is on the left.

I dunno nothing about thier lil funky sat pic, but my sat stuff says 1 to 3 years old, and I doubt that is accurate as no construction or repair work can be seen and I think it has been on-going for longer than 3 years, but the pics give a better idea of what the bridge looks like. I never been there.

They say the search will begin again at day-break, but it to be a "recovery" search.

I hope some of the missing turn up elsewhere and safe, and that the injured survive.

 

[christabelll]

its a Sad sad thing. My thoughts and prayers go out to all involved.

However -
I live in the DC area... and as reports of this were coming in, I heard a strangely ironically coincidentally bizarre thing happenedd as this occured.
A senator/rep was on the floor here (DC), and was talking to The house (or whatever) about the need to refurbish, safeguard, protect our bridges. He is from Minneapolis, as are his constituents. He apparently was in the middle of this speech when the bridge collapsed, which he then reported to the house as a more or less by blow to the event.

Now I am all for making sure bridges etc are structurally sound etc. But I think it was amazingly timed that he was on the floor at the moment this occurred.
I got frissons of goosebumps and chills when I heard this.
I am probably inaccurately paraphrasing what I heard but my house mate heard it too and we both went - now isn't that a coincidence....

And the Bridge is less than 45 years old. There is really no logical reason this bridge should have collapsed as it did.

Its a tragedy. But something really stinks in this and it isn't the smell of burning vehicles. And it doesn't have the smell of "terrorist attack."

 

[amicus]

Ah, is this how the spin begins and the blame game emerges?

I shall watch with interest.

Amicus...

 

[christabelll]

I don't blame any one...

I was just sharing what was happening here...

But you have to admit the timing was imppecably coincidental...

 

[SensualCealy]

I think the scarest bridge I have been on is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge...the one spoke of earlier that is 7 freeking miles long!

You are in the middle of the bridge and you can not see land- that is why I do NOT want to ever go on a cruise ship...so Im a freak!

Ive been on that bridge twice, it's beautiful but everytime Im on it Im thinking there is no hope for anyone if this thing colapses or if there is an accident and someone goes over the rail.

Prayers are with all those not found yet.
C

 

[Guest]

I think the scarest bridge I have been on is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge...the one spoke of earlier that is 7 freeking miles long!

You are in the middle of the bridge and you can not see land- that is why I do NOT want to ever go on a cruise ship...so Im a freak!

Ive been on that bridge twice, it's beautiful but everytime Im on it Im thinking there is no hope for anyone if this thing colapses or if there is an accident and someone goes over the rail.

Prayers are with all those not found yet.
C

On Headline News they are estimating 20-30 people missing, and they are now in a Recovery, not Rescue Effort.

 

[MagicaPractica]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070802/ap_on_re_us/bridge_collapse

Police: More victims in submerged cars

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI, Associated Press Writers 11 minutes ago
MINNEAPOLIS - Divers searched the Mississippi River on Thursday for more bodies entombed in cars trapped beneath the twisted steel and concrete slabs of a collapsed bridge. As many as 30 people were missing as the effort shifted from rescue to recovery.

The official death count stood at four Thursday morning, but Police Chief Tim Dolan said more victims were still in the water.

"We have a number of vehicles that are underneath big pieces of concrete, and we do know we have some people in those vehicles," Dolan said. "We know we do have more casualties at the scene."

The eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, was in the midst of repairs when the bridge buckled during the evening rush hour Wednesday. Dozens of cars plummeted more than 60 feet into the Mississippi River, some falling on top one of another. A school bus sat at an angle on the concrete.

Under water, divers were taking down license plate numbers for authorities to track down the vehicles' owners. Getting the vehicles out was expected to take several days and involve moving around very large, heavy pieces of bridge.

"The bridge is still shifting," Dolan said. "We're dealing with the Mississippi River. We're dealing with currents. We're going to have to do it slowly and safely."
He said police estimate that 20 to 30 people were unaccounted for, though he stressed that it was just an estimate. Fire Chief Jim Clack said Thursday that emergency work was no longer a rescue operation and had become a recovery operation.

Relatives of some of the missing gathered in a hotel ballroom early Thursday, waiting for any news and hoping for the best.

"I've never wanted to see my brother so much in my life," said Kristi Foster, who went to an information center set up at a Holiday Inn looking for her brother Kirk. She hadn't had contact with her brother or his girlfriend, Krystle Webb, since the previous night.

Authorities initially said at least seven people had died, but Police Lt. Amelia Huffman lowered that number Thursday morning, saying, "The medical examiner's office only has four sets of remains." She said the initial reports were based on the best estimates authorities had Wednesday night.

More than 60 people were injured and as many as 50 vehicles were in the river. Many of their occupants had scrambled to shore after the collapse. Some carried the injured up the riverbank, while emergency workers tended to others on the ground and some jumped into the water to look for survivors. Fire and black smoke rose from the wreckage.

The Homeland Security Department said the collapse did not appear to be terrorism-related, but Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek said Thursday that the cause of the collapse was still unknown.

"All indications are that it was a collapse, not an act of someone doing it," Stanek said.

He said at least a dozen submerged vehicles were visible in the water. A train had been passing beneath the roadway and it also fell, including a car carrying a chemical, polystyrene beads, that the fire chief said was not particularly hazardous.

The bridge had been inspected by the Minnesota Department of Transportation in 2005 and 2006 and no immediate structural problems were noted, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Wednesday.

"There were some minor things that needed attention," he said. "They notified us from an engineering standpoint the deck might need to be rehabilitated or replaced in 2020 or beyond."

A federal database, however, showed the 40-year-old bridge had been rated as "structurally deficient" in 2005 and possibly in need of replacement, the Star Tribune reported citing the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Bridge Inventory.

The White House also confirmed the 2005 inspection. White House press secretary Tony Snow said the span rated 50 on a scale of 120 for structural stability.

"This doesn't mean there was a risk of failure, but if an inspection report identifies deficiencies, the state is responsible for taking corrective actions," he said.

Jeanne Aamodt, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said her agency was aware of the 2005 assessment. She noted that many other bridges around the country carry the same designation and declined to say what the agency had done to address the deficiencies.

The bridge was fitted in 2001 with a computerized anti-icing system that sprayed chemicals on the surface during winter weather, according to documents posted on the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Web site.

This week, road crews had been working on the bridge's joints, guardrails and lights, with lane closures overnight on Tuesday and Wednesday.

There were 18 construction workers on the bridge at the time of the collapse, said Tom Sloan, head of the bridge division for Progressive Contractors Inc., in St. Michael. One of the workers was unaccounted for.

Sloan said his crew was placing concrete finish on the bridge for what he called a routine resurfacing project. "It was the final item on this phase of the project. Suddenly the bridge gave way," he said.

Sloan said his workers described a horrific scene. "They said they basically rode the bridge down to the water. They were sliding into cars and cars were sliding into them," he said.

The entire span of Interstate 35W crumpled into the river below. Some injured people were carried up the riverbank, while emergency workers tended to others on the ground.

The school bus had just crossed the bridge when it collapsed. It did not go into the water, and the children were able to escape unharmed out the back door.
Christine Swift's 10-year-old daughter, Kaleigh, was on the bus, returning from a field trip to Bunker Hills in Blaine. She said her daughter called her about 6:10 p.m.

"She was screaming, 'The bridge collapsed,'" Swift said. All the kids got off the bus safely, but about 10 of the children were injured, officials said.

Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., said he spoke with Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, and that both of them along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., will be flying to the Twin Cities on Thursday.

First lady Laura Bush planned to travel to Minneapolis on Friday to console the victims' families, Snow said.

The collapsed bridge is just blocks from the heart of Minneapolis, near tourist attractions like the new Guthrie Theater and the Stone Arch Bridge. As the steamy night progressed massive crowds of onlookers circulated in the area on foot or bicycle, some of them wearing Twins T-shirts and caps after departing Wednesday night's game at the nearby Metrodome early.

Thursday's game between the Twins and Kansas City Royals was called off, but the Twins decided to go ahead with Wednesday's rather than sending about 25,000 fans back out onto the congested highways. Inside the stadium, there was a moment of silence to honor victims.

The steel-arched bridge, which was built in 1967, rose about 64 feet above the river and stretched about 1,900 feet across the water. The bridge was built with a single 458-foot-long steel arch to avoid putting any piers in the water that might interfere with river navigation.

The river's depth at the bridge was not immediately available, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains a channel depth of at least 9 feet in the Upper Mississippi from Minneapolis southward to allow for barge and other river traffic. The site is just downstream from the St. Anthony Falls locks and dams.
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Associated Press Writers Brian Bakst and Patrick Condon contributed to this report from Minneapolis; Martiga Lohn contributed to this report from St. Paul.

 

[only_more_so]

I don't blame any one...

I was just sharing what was happening here...

But you have to admit the timing was imppecably coincidental...

Why is it coincidental? The heaviest loading on a bridge is bumper to bumper traffic. If it's going to fail, that is when it would fail. Especially with the added stresses of bridge construction and the heat wave I've heard Minneapolis has had.

 

[MagicaPractica]

Why is it coincidental? The heaviest loading on a bridge is bumper to bumper traffic. If it's going to fail, that is when it would fail. Especially with the added stresses of bridge construction and the heat wave I've heard Minneapolis has had.

She was referring to the relationship between when it happened and the rumor she heard that the Senator from Minneapolis was on the Senate floor (or some such) talking about the need for bridge refurbishment funds. Sounds like the start of an urban legend to me. Maybe it was for real but it sounds a little *too* coincidental to me.

 

[Salvor-Hardon]

My younger brother lives in that area, he called last night to tell me he was ok before I had heard about it.

Him: "Are you watching the news?"

Me: "No, what's up?"

H: "Huge bridge up here collapsed, I just wanted to let you know we weren't on it."

M: "What the fuck?"

H: "Yeah, weird, but we're cool, just didn't want you freaking out."

M: "OK, thanks for the heads up."

H: "You guys doing ok?"

M: "Yeah, we're cool. Not much going on"

H:" ok well, talk to you later."

M: " later"


IT was all very surreal.

 

[Northwoods_Dom]

We arrived home last night to discover this tradegy. We have freinds and relatives that live in that area and use that bridge. I used to cross it twice a day. Scary! Our payers are with the loved ones lost in this horrible event.