Bridge Collapse

[Moss6]

Many were traveling to the Twins game when this happened. They called off their game for tomorrow. My news is about an hour old, I haven't hear much since then.

 

Latest report is that the Twins were asked not to cancel tonights game and let 20-25K of fans back on the streets which would have flooded the area with people. The TV crawler is asking people to minimize cell phone use so as to not to hamper communications which are strained.

 

[SuperBalla]

I live in Minneapolis and work in St. Paul and this is my way to work (well not anymore), so I travel this road TWICE daily (only once today). Extremely scary knowing that the bridge itself was in that bad of a shape to collapse. It didn't surprise me though because they have been working on the bridge for the past few weeks and they have ONLY done improvements on the surface of the bridge, NO improvements on the structural underlining of the bridge. Also the bridge has seen extremely stress these few weeks as jackhammers and other heavy equipment have been pounding on the surface of the bridge. So I think that it was the fault of the construction crew that was working on the bridge.....at least that's how it will play out, anybody with half a brain who travels it daily would know that. Scary to know that if it happened one hour later, I would of been on it ....but I pray for those who have been lost and hope that the death toll stays at a minimum.

 

 

Glad you are okay my friend.

[dmarc117]

we take so much for granted.....you just never know when something like this will happen

[bushwacked]

Heartbreaking stuff......not much of an excuse for this stuff happening.

 

This is frickin' ridiculous. I drive on the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle everyday and think about something like this occurring every commute. Thoughts with those surviving and the loved ones of those who perished.

 

 

First thing that crossed my mind....we have money for so many things, but this chit doesn't get resolved for one reason or another.

Edited August 2, 2007 by bushwacked

[Outshined]

Its miraculous that more people were killed considering it is 4 lanes each way and it was bumper to bumper traffic.

 

Here are some stories of survivors who rode the bridge down: http://www.startribune.com/10204/story/1338808.html

 

More Pics: http://www.startribune.com/10136/gallery/1338445.html

 

Snapshot: http://www.startribune.com/10072/rich_media/1338795.html

Edited August 2, 2007 by Outshined

[MikesVikes]

The ground breaking for the new baseball stadium has been called off also.

 

A guy I know is on that building committee. He's the only out-state member of it.

[MikesVikes]

Its miraculous that more people were killed considering it is 4 lanes each way and it was bumper to bumper traffic.

 

Here are some stories of survivors who rode the bridge down: http://www.startribune.com/10204/story/1338808.html

 

More Pics: http://www.startribune.com/10136/gallery/1338445.html

 

Snapshot: http://www.startribune.com/10072/rich_media/1338795.html

 

True. It sure puts into perspective how unimportant things such as Garnett leaving town or Santana wanting to do the same.

[Mystykoekaki]

Its miraculous that more people were killed considering it is 4 lanes each way and it was bumper to bumper traffic.

 

Here are some stories of survivors who rode the bridge down: http://www.startribune.com/10204/story/1338808.html

 

More Pics: http://www.startribune.com/10136/gallery/1338445.html

 

Snapshot: http://www.startribune.com/10072/rich_media/1338795.html

 

It's not actually 4 lanes each way, it's two lanes each way totalling 4 lanes because of the current work that was being done on the bridge. But yeah, 4 lanes total, heavy rush hour traffic...I'm also shocked that many more were not killed.

[SteelBunz]

Just shocking. Glad you guys are all alright!

 

And Crispy.....I'd have never known you were up there. Are you visiting?

[Crispy]

Just shocking. Glad you guys are all alright!

 

And Crispy.....I'd have never known you were up there. Are you visiting?

 

I believe you're confusing me with another Huddler (Crispirons?). I have lived in Minneapolis for 19 years now. Thanks for the concern just the same.

[Randall]

They are saying 7-9 died. Man it could have been hundreds.

[MikesVikes]

You know, the Republican convention is going to be in the TC area and they are in the planning stages. I'll bet that it didn't take long for the Homeland Security Boys to take notice.

[Puddy]

They are saying 7-9 died. Man it could have been hundreds.

I think that total is expected to rise during the day today. I've read that 20 more are missing

[loaf]

thoughts out to those affected

[The Irish Doggy]

This is just awful. I'm reminded of the same thoughts from when a section of an Arkansas bridge collapsed a few years ago. Just imagine being in one of those cars.

[MikesVikes]

Sure glad that wasn't my wife's Red Ford Focus in the water.

[T-Scorp]

They interviewed the VP of the construction company on the new last night, he was accompanied by his lawyer, who also spoke. The explained that they were doing no structure work. Gov Pawlenty indicated that there were no structure damages reported in either of the last two inspections, done in 05 and 06. There are reports that there were stress fractures reported int he last inspection so we'll have to wait and see which is correct.

 

They just reported that they had revised the total dead from 7 to 4 but there are still about 20 vehicles in the water that they have not searched, plus there are areas under the the collapsed bridge sections in and out of the water that have not been searched.

 

I talked to my brother in law who is a St Paul police officer and he indicated there will be a lot more fatalities reported today as the recovery effort resumes this morning. He said it was going to be a traffic nightmare for the next few weeks until drivers figure out all of the new detours.

 

Prayers to all who were involved.....

[Ursa Majoris]

They interviewed the VP of the construction company on the new last night, he was accompanied by his lawyer, who also spoke. The explained that they were doing no structure work. Gov Pawlenty indicated that there were no structure damages reported in either of the last two inspections, done in 05 and 06. There are reports that there were stress fractures reported int he last inspection so we'll have to wait and see which is correct.

From the Star Tribune today:

Bridge was rated 'structurally deficient' in 2005

 

The highway bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi River on Wednesday was rated as "structurally deficient" two years ago and possibly in need of replacement.

 

That rating was contained in the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Bridge Inventory database.

 

Jeanne Aamodt, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said the department was aware of the 2005 assessment of the bridge. "We've seen it, and we are very familiar with it," she said.

 

Aamodt said the department plans its bridge repairs using information from the Bridge Inventory database.

 

Many other bridges nationwide carry the same designation that the I-35W bridge received, Aamodt said.

 

Aamodt declined to say what the agency was going to do to address the deficiencies found in 2005 and referred further questions to Dan Dorgan, state bridge engineer and director of the bridge office. Dorgan wasn't available for comment.

 

The deficiency rating is derived from a complex formula that evaluates many factors and condenses them into an overall score. A score of 80 percent or less indicates some rehabilitation may be needed; a 50 percent score or less indicates replacement may be in order.

 

The I-35W bridge was rated at 50 percent. The rating data was provided to the Star Tribune by the National Institute of Computer Assisted Reporting.

 

The inventory data also summarize the bridge's status as "structurally deficient." Bridge components are ranked on a scale of 0 to 9, with 0 being "failed" and 9 being "excellent."

 

In 2005, the bridge's superstructure -- meaning the physical conditions of all structural members -- was rated at 4, records show. The bridge's deck was rated 5, and the substructure, comprised of the piers, abutments, footings and other components, was rated 6.

 

In 2001, a research report on the bridge had found that it was unlikely to experience any fatigue cracking in the trusses supporting its deck. The paper, prepared by the University of Minnesota's Center for Information Studies, evaluated both the main trusses and the floor truss of the bridge.

 

The report by the late Robert J. Dexter and others, concluded that the bridge's deck "has not experienced fatigue cracking, but it has many poor fatigue details on the main truss and floor truss system."

 

The authors said their research helped determine that "fatigue cracking of the deck truss is not likely." They added that the bridge shouldn't have any problems with fatigue cracking "in the forseeable future" and that there was no need to "prematurely replace this bridge because of fatigue cracking, avoiding the high costs associated with such a large project."

 

However, the report noted "many poor fatigue details" and said certain members of the main truss should be inspected every two years, as was being done at the time. In addition, the report said, certain sections of the floor trusses had high stress areas that should be inspected every six months.

 

Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Wednesday night that the bridge was inspected in 2005 and 2006, and that no structural deficiencies were identified.

 

Workers had been engaged since early May on a resurfacing project on the bridge that was to conclude in September. It included the installation of guard rails and lighting.

 

The span carried the name Bridge 9340 in the books of the state Department of Transportation, although it originally was dubbed the St. Anthony Bridge.

 

The steel-arch structure, opened in 1967, carried 140,000 cars a day at last count, in 2002, its 1,907 feet spanning eight lanes.

[wiegie]

From the Star Tribune today:

Bridge was rated 'structurally deficient' in 2005

 

The highway bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi River on Wednesday was rated as "structurally deficient" two years ago and possibly in need of replacement.

 

I heard somebody (perhaps the governor) say that there are 80,000 bridges in the US that have been rated as "structurally deficient" and another 80,000 with even worse ratings.

[Big John]

To be more clear, the "4" superstructure rating means "poor" and it is structurally deficient and needs rehab/replacement and more frequent inspections.

 

The 50% sufficiency rating is a bit misleading to the bridge's soundness. It is a Federal Highway Agency's rating system formula that takes several factors in place, structural rating being only one of them. The primary purpose of this is justification of federal funds for replacement/rehabilation, in which a 50 or lower is cause for this justification.

 

The big red flag I saw was the fatigue cracks that seemed to be overlooked. This is a very serious problem, especially with a bridge that looked to not be structurally redundant (2 main structural lines) meaning fracture critical. These needed at a minimum frequent in-depth analysis, plus rehabbing those areas, and cause for replacements of the members, if not the superstructure of bridge itself. The "4" rating was generous for a bridge with those fatague cracks and a "3-serious" is normally used with this.

 

scale meanings (roughly):

 

0 - failed

1 - imminent failure, must close bridge

2 - critical - repairs or replacement needed

3 - serious - needa at least close monitoring

4 - poor - critical members showing deterioration

5 - fair - members starting to deterioriate

6 - good - members showing minor-moderate problems, but critical members are sound.

7 - non-critical conponents showing minor problems

8 - very good - no problems (normally used for best state)

9 - excellent - used when new, reverts to 8 afterward

Edited August 2, 2007 by Big John

[Yukon Cornelius]

It is the fault of the state. They regulate bridges.

i used to hang out under that bridge on the catwalk, a lot of collage kids did, and u could here and see it move... it was on rollers , kinda like rail car wheels... man its nuts not my regular route, i cross on 94 but this will be nuts for years as that is one of the major roads in and out of MPLS...

[AtomicCEO]

scale meanings (roughly):

 

0 - failed

1 - imminent failure, must close bridge

2 - critical - repairs or replacement needed

3 - serious - needa at least close monitoring

4 - poor - critical members showing deterioration

5 - fair - members starting to deterioriate

6 - good - members showing minor-moderate problems, but critical members are sound.

7 - non-critical conponents showing minor problems

8 - very good - no problems (normally used for best state)

9 - excellent - used when new, reverts to 8 afterward

 

Coming from a software background, I never trust anything brand new. So I would call #9 "Beta testing", then revert it to an 8.

[Randall]

I think that total is expected to rise during the day today. I've read that 20 more are missing

 

 

True but when I first saw it I thought many more wouldn't make it. A bridge collapse in bumper to bumper traffic.

[whomper]

For some strange reason my wife and I had a long conversation about death yesterday and how it can happen in very strange and unexpected ways. This is a horrible example of that..So sad. My prayers to all affected by this

[Randall]

I heard somebody (perhaps the governor) say that there are 80,000 bridges in the US that have been rated as "structurally deficient" and another 80,000 with even worse ratings.

 

 

The steam pipe explosion in NY shows much of our infrastructure in the countrry needs work.