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Bridge Collapse in Minneapolis !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Started by PocketThunder, August 01, 2007, 07:48:50 PM

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PocketThunder

August 01, 2007, 07:48:50 PM
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20079534/?GT1=10252

:o  We drove by there but couldnt get close.  Holy Crap!
"Liberalism is a disease that attacks one's ability to understand logic. Extreme manifestations include the willingness to continue down a path of self destruction, based solely on a delusional belief in a failed ideology."

OldGuy

#1
August 01, 2007, 08:00:46 PM
Been watching the coverage on Fox News.  Can't imagine how the thing could just fall into the river without something to set it off.  Were they doing support work under the structure or just paving it?  It took an earthquake in the Bay area to cause the Oakland-Bay bridge to collapse.  Strange!! :scratchchin:
"I can tell by your sarcastic undertones, rude comments and total lack of common decency, that you and I could be best friends".

supserdave

#2
August 01, 2007, 08:03:52 PM
Good to hear your ok Paul. Hopefully everyone else is ok, and my prayers go out to the victims.

PocketThunder

#3
August 01, 2007, 08:18:25 PM
they were resurfacing the deck.  i dont drive that way everyday but i was just over that bridge a couple weeks ago.
"Liberalism is a disease that attacks one's ability to understand logic. Extreme manifestations include the willingness to continue down a path of self destruction, based solely on a delusional belief in a failed ideology."

Purple440

#4
August 01, 2007, 10:16:10 PM
Was downtown St.Paul around 5pm....still watching coverage now.

68rustbucket

#5
August 01, 2007, 11:09:33 PM
man thats crazy i was down stairs working on my closet so i didnt here about this till like 5 o clock. But i heard on the news in one of the previous inspections they had noticed some of the main steel suports cracked.

ChargerSG

#6
August 02, 2007, 04:15:27 AM
Just saw it on the news :o
Looking for 383 Magnum #0B196875 and 0B115166

TeeWJay426

#7
August 02, 2007, 06:45:54 AM
Jeez.... 9 dead so far, 20 missing, most likely still trapped in their cars at the bottom of the Mississippi.... heard they were also jackhammering on the bridge at the time; lots of speculation with no real facts as to the cause.... and it was only built in '67! Thoughts and prayers go out to the victims.... :engel016:
74 Charger SE, 400 HP, 4-speed

PocketThunder

#8
August 02, 2007, 08:21:50 AM
4 confirmed dead as of this morning.  You can see video of it here: www.cnn.com  It looks like the south end of the bridge fell first.  There are pictures of the bottom cord end joint that has rust on it.  I assume so far that it was the 90º+ heat combined with the vibration of the construction, and the vibration of the traffic that contributed to the truss joint failure.  I'm not a structural engineer but do have a construction degree from Stout and we did take a few Structure Classes along with Statics and Strengths of materials.

This is my guess so far. :shruggy:
"Liberalism is a disease that attacks one's ability to understand logic. Extreme manifestations include the willingness to continue down a path of self destruction, based solely on a delusional belief in a failed ideology."

Old Moparz

#9
August 02, 2007, 08:54:23 AM
It's sad that it happened at that time of day, maybe a lot less people or even nobody, would have been hurt. The age of the bridge may not be as old as some, but lack of maintenance & the use of excessive salt over the years will help deteriorate it. I remember in the 1970's NYC was broke & didn't maintain anything. Bridges, roads, & other structures were a mess, & a section of the elevated West Side Highway in Manhattan collapsed. They also found out that the acidity in pigeon droppings were corroding the bridges too. (Pigeons & NYC are like hot dogs & mustard.)

               Bob               



              Going Nowhere In A Hurry

HAZZARDJOHN

#10
August 02, 2007, 08:55:09 AM
I crossed that bridge at about 5:30, My Dad was 15 minutes behind me. Unbelievable!  :o

My Dad is a Minneapolis Cop, He is a Lieutenant and him and his team has been there all night. He called me this morning and I got a little insight. There is going to be a lot more dead. There is lots of cars completely submerged and some under the bridge. They haven't even bother to check them as yesterday the goal was to rescue those who could be rescued. Now they are starting a recovery. This is not good.

~HJ
My mechanic told me, "I couldn't fix your brakes, but don't worry I made your horn louder."

PocketThunder

#11
August 02, 2007, 08:57:38 AM
And then they paint over the steel to protect it but that just hides any visible trouble spots.  Here is a before picture, you can see the rusty joint that probably failed.
"Liberalism is a disease that attacks one's ability to understand logic. Extreme manifestations include the willingness to continue down a path of self destruction, based solely on a delusional belief in a failed ideology."

Old Moparz

#12
August 02, 2007, 09:42:01 AM
The last company I worked at was a civil engineering firm, & one of the things we did were bridge inspections. There was one engineer there that had inspected a group of bridges for Passaic County, New Jersey, & he took a lot of photos. One set of pics would blow your mind. The steel was so rusted, that the web of the beam, (the vertical part) didn't sit on the plate mounted to the concrete abutment.

He recommended that the bridge be shut down, but the county said it was too busy of a road & kept it open. It wasn't a large span, but even over a small creek or rail road bed, it could have killed someone. I don't know what the outcome was, this was 15 or 16 years ago. There could have been politics involved as well as incompetence in the bridge collapse in Minneapolis as well.
               Bob               



              Going Nowhere In A Hurry

PocketThunder

#13
August 02, 2007, 10:05:47 AM
The Stillwater Lift Bridge in Stillwater, MN will be the next one to go down.  That bridge has a ga-zillion cars on it everyday and it certainly wasnt designed for it.

http://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/liftbridge/index.html

"Liberalism is a disease that attacks one's ability to understand logic. Extreme manifestations include the willingness to continue down a path of self destruction, based solely on a delusional belief in a failed ideology."

69-DodgeCharger

#14
August 02, 2007, 10:16:36 AM
I was over this bridge a few days ago doing a delivery for work so Im just thankful Im still here but Im praying for those who werent fortunate enough to make it off the bridge safely. My friends brother had literally just crossed the bridge and felt the rumbing and shaking of it as it went down. This is just a really unfortunate tragedy. And now the weeks of cleaning start up and then rebiulding the bridge, man what a mess. Now theres gonna be more traffic going different ways to get into Minneapolis.

TeeWJay426

#15
August 02, 2007, 02:14:45 PM
A surveillance video of the actual collapse has been released:

http://www.clipsyndicate.com/publish/video/362129

Scray stuff- my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.
74 Charger SE, 400 HP, 4-speed

Brock Samson

#16
August 02, 2007, 03:56:50 PM
we had a bridge collapse earlier in the week here too,..
less than ten years ago a govt. report was released by the D.O. T. that said this type of incident will become far more frequent as our interstate transport system actually collapses because of age... bridges in particular will fail as well as dams and levees...
another thing to worry about on the horizon is the breakup of our fiber optic and electrical grids...  :2thumbs:
i can hardly wait.  :-\

Charger_Fan

#17
August 02, 2007, 04:02:44 PM
Well, I didn't see any Chargers in any of the footage...that's good! :cheers:

Seriously though, that's a tragic thing to have happen. RIP to those who perished. :angelwing:

The Aquamax...yes, this bike spent 2 nights underwater one weekend. (Not my doing), but it gained the name, and has since become pseudo-famous. :)

71ChallengeHer

#18
August 02, 2007, 04:51:32 PM
Very sad. My prayers are with the families and victims. :engel016:    Just watching the news. It's great to know PA has more unstable bridges then any other state. And most of them are around where I live. :brickwall:

Purple440

#19
August 02, 2007, 06:37:47 PM
Quote from: PocketThunder on August 02, 2007, 10:05:47 AM
The Stillwater Lift Bridge in Stillwater, MN will be the next one to go down.  That bridge has a ga-zillion cars on it everyday and it certainly wasnt designed for it.

http://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/liftbridge/index.html

Yeah that bridge is trying to handle a bunch of urban sprawl.  It'll probably go on Lumberjack days when there's a billion ppl downtown.

472 R/T SE

#20
August 02, 2007, 06:47:57 PM
Just like the lattice boom of a crane, you knock one cord out and if it's under load the whole thing's coming down.  I used to chew carpenters' arse when they would let a spreader bar hit the boom.
It's a shame this happened.  Thoughts go out to the family member's who lost a loved one.  It goes to show, when it's your time there's not much you can do.  :engel016:

Vainglory, Esq.

#21
August 02, 2007, 07:09:02 PM
My girlfriend called me pretty hysterical yesterday, as she was about 3 blocks away when it happened.  She could see it from her apartment (we both live about a mile away), and her office was closed down today because it's more or less "next door," and the Red Cross was using it as a gathering place.  I happen to go to school no more than 500 feet or so away, and she and I both know many, many people who very well could have been on that bridge.  Thankfully, it seems like everyone is accounted for.

Here's a picture that she took from her office this morning, before they closed it down and sent her home.

Vainglory, Esq.

#22
August 02, 2007, 07:10:20 PM
And here's a picture she took from the balcony of her apartment maybe 3 hours after the collapse.  She's on the 17th floor looking west, no more than a half mile away.

Apparently there was a lot of billowing black smoke coming from where you see the smoke in this photo.  It had died down when she took the picture.
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