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Major Bridge just collapsed in Minneapolis
- Thread starter pat
- Start Date
I saw this on the news today - it's just awful.
Thank goodness that everybody here is ok, I'm so sorry for those who have been affected. I'm sending many many good vibes to all those who are still missing and those waiting to hear from loved ones.
Thank goodness that everybody here is ok, I'm so sorry for those who have been affected. I'm sending many many good vibes to all those who are still missing and those waiting to hear from loved ones.
I am sending hugs and prayers from Mississippi for everyone involved in this terrible situation.
:hu gs:
There are 3 other bridges in MN of similar type (one is up near St. Cloud - but they are building a new bridge next to it to handle the traffic). I believe they will be inspecting these other bridges very closely in the next week or so to report anything they find.
On the news they said that the inspectors probably did everything they were supposed to do at the time (when inspecting) but maybe they need to check out more then the normal routine.
It will take a few years to rebuild that bridge - just hope they put in extra middle support this time. Traffic was not too bad with the new routing today for work; but the real test will be after Labor Day when everyone is back from vacations, and the kids are back in college.
On the news they said that the inspectors probably did everything they were supposed to do at the time (when inspecting) but maybe they need to check out more then the normal routine.
It will take a few years to rebuild that bridge - just hope they put in extra middle support this time. Traffic was not too bad with the new routing today for work; but the real test will be after Labor Day when everyone is back from vacations, and the kids are back in college.
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Lots of thoughts and prayers to everyone in MN. I'm glad to hear everyone's families are okay
Originally Posted by GingersMom
...But hey - let's talk about Lohan or Hilton or Spears some more, take us away from what is REALLY important - like the lives of millions of commuters, perhaps?
Another thing to consider is this. This bridge, as well as many others built 40+ years ago near big cities, were designed to handle a certain amount of traffic, without the full knowledge of just how big or how fast our suburbs would grow, increasing the amount of traffic the bridge would have to handle. Also add to the fact, that there was a baseball game, rush hour and construction equipment on that bridge.
There is a bridge going into Cleveland, called the inner belt bridge, that I used to drive over every day, to and from work. That bridge handles traffic coming from all the southern suburbs, that have increased in size over the past few decades, as well as traffic from people who live in Akron and work in Cleveland. This bridge is of the same steel girder design as the I35 bridge. I can recall many times, being stuck in traffic that was at a stand still on that bridge. As trucks would pass by in the opposite direction, your whole car would bounce around. I know the bridge is designed to move like that, it has to or what happened to the I35 bridge would surely happen, if it did not. But it just gives you an uneasy feeling, to feel the bridge move while sitting there with no place to go. Now however, I drive the I-480 Valleyview bridge, which is a bridge that crosses a large, very deep valley and is extremely high. When something like this happens, it makes you much more aware of things you do every day. My prayers go out to everyone who have been affected by this tragedy.
I've been watching a lot of the coverage online. Maybe it's just my peaceful nature, but I find it hard to point a finger in blame just yet. When they do find a cause for this tragedy, I sincerely hope and pray it is more related to innocent mistakes or should I say ones that were made simply because they just didn't and couldn't know some things. (like has been said about the changes in the amount of traffic since the bridge was built)
This is just my oppinion, but sometimes I feel people are too quick to look for someone to direct our emotions at. But then at the same time, to not look for someone/something to blame will not prevent this type of tragedy from occuring in the future. I do think it's good to begin looking for possible causes right away, but it needs to be done in a manner where people will not feel the need to become defensive. I guess I just feel that if we are too quick to 'judge' or too quick to blame that our words and actions can cause more hurt than good.
This is just my oppinion, but sometimes I feel people are too quick to look for someone to direct our emotions at. But then at the same time, to not look for someone/something to blame will not prevent this type of tragedy from occuring in the future. I do think it's good to begin looking for possible causes right away, but it needs to be done in a manner where people will not feel the need to become defensive. I guess I just feel that if we are too quick to 'judge' or too quick to blame that our words and actions can cause more hurt than good.
My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved in this horrific tragedy!!
Glad that everyone from TCS that lives around there is safe.
Glad that everyone from TCS that lives around there is safe.
Yes, the local news repoerted from the twin bridges we have that cross the Ohio between Evansville, Indiana and Henderson, Kentucky. One span is undergoing maintenance and local engineers are assuring us they are okay. The oldest bridge just turned 70 this year.Originally Posted by babyharley
Its really scary because we have many bridges in my area that go across the Mississippi, and they had investigators on all of them last night because they are the same type of bridge that collapsed yesterday.
Its really scary because we go across those bridges daily
In the news today I read that the way the bridge collapsed may have reduced the death toll.
Another Minnesota person here...Originally Posted by Pat & Alix
What the heck does that meanI was watching tv, saw the breaking news, have customers and other ties to the state, and I cared about the horror I was seeing. I thought maybe folks here on the forum might not yet have heard about it since the channel I was watching had the only live footage on air at that time.
geesh.
I don't think she meant anything offendsive, but was just surprised that the bridge collapse became national news so quickly.
I'm still kind of confused about exactly which bridge has collapased. There's a bridge that we always cross when we come into Minneapolis from the south, and it's the same type of bridge, so I'm not sure if this is the one that has collapased or not. But I have to say that I never ever thought while crossing that bridge that it might fall... but now I will.
Scamper Farms: I'm so glad you weren't on the bridge when it fell, and I'm also glad that those here who were concerned about loved ones were able to get good news.
UPDATE: This morning there are 5 people confirmed dead and this death toll will rise. From what I understand, there are as many as 30 bodies still in the water because the divers haven't been able to reach them due to dangerous conditions.
Please keep those families who are still waiting for news in your thoughts and prayers.
When I was watching the news last night (this is all thats on...) and they said there are people that have died in their cars underwater yet, because parts of the bridge has fallen on their cars, and with the current and the huge pieces of cement bridge on top of the cars, its impossible to get them out yetOriginally Posted by Lorie D.
Another Minnesota person here...
I don't think she meant anything offendsive, but was just surprised that the bridge collapse became national news so quickly.
I'm still kind of confused about exactly which bridge has collapased. There's a bridge that we always cross when we come into Minneapolis from the south, and it's the same type of bridge, so I'm not sure if this is the one that has collapased or not. But I have to say that I never ever thought while crossing that bridge that it might fall... but now I will.
Scamper Farms: I'm so glad you weren't on the bridge when it fell, and I'm also glad that those here who were concerned about loved ones were able to get good news.
UPDATE: This morning there are 5 people confirmed dead and this death toll will rise. From what I understand, there are as many as 30 bodies still in the water because the divers haven't been able to reach them due to dangerous conditions.
Please keep those families who are still waiting for news in your thoughts and prayers.
They don't think there will be that many dead (as predicted) - they lowered the count on missing people. Yes some are in the cars, but its probably only one in the car.
They are not sure how many cars are really in the river. DH says they were gonna be draining some of the water so that it will lower the river level about 4-5 feet and they can see better.
They are not sure how many cars are really in the river. DH says they were gonna be draining some of the water so that it will lower the river level about 4-5 feet and they can see better.
I just wanted to pass along my condolences to the families and friends of those who lost loved ones and to wish a speedy recovery for those who were injured.
On a side note, this bridge scored only a 50 out of 120 and was still deemed as safe to use? I'm no math whiz but that is well less than a 50% rating, which to me is unsafe. You really have to question an evaluation system that says a rating such as the one above doesn't mean there is a risk of failure even though it's labeled as "structurally deficient". Bridges are designed to handle a certain amount of vehicle traffic of vehicle traffic in a given day. There is a lot more traffic on the roads now than there was when this bridge was built. The Brent Spence bridge here in Cincinnati was built in, I believe, 1960, and was meant to handle 60-70,000 vehicles a day. Today there are more than 140,000 that cross it every day. With a bridge rating only 50 out of 120 and being structurally deficient, sooner or later something has to give. The sad thing is there are probably thousands of other bridges in a similar condition as this one was. I have to take serious issue with White House Spokesman Tony Snow when he states "this does not mean there was a risk of failure" and "or that the national system of inspecting bridges needs to be reevaluated." Obviously, it does.
On a side note, this bridge scored only a 50 out of 120 and was still deemed as safe to use? I'm no math whiz but that is well less than a 50% rating, which to me is unsafe. You really have to question an evaluation system that says a rating such as the one above doesn't mean there is a risk of failure even though it's labeled as "structurally deficient". Bridges are designed to handle a certain amount of vehicle traffic of vehicle traffic in a given day. There is a lot more traffic on the roads now than there was when this bridge was built. The Brent Spence bridge here in Cincinnati was built in, I believe, 1960, and was meant to handle 60-70,000 vehicles a day. Today there are more than 140,000 that cross it every day. With a bridge rating only 50 out of 120 and being structurally deficient, sooner or later something has to give. The sad thing is there are probably thousands of other bridges in a similar condition as this one was. I have to take serious issue with White House Spokesman Tony Snow when he states "this does not mean there was a risk of failure" and "or that the national system of inspecting bridges needs to be reevaluated." Obviously, it does.
After seeing it on TV and reading about it, it still a shock..
Many prayers are going out to the whole state, and to the families affected.
Many prayers are going out to the whole state, and to the families affected.
If you have Google Earth, here are the coordinates...
44º58'44.04" N
93º14'42.10" W
An unfortunate problem in Google Earth is the the ommission of elevation data for certain surface features like bridges as the following picture from G.E. already shows the bridge down (as well as the others). For some bridges such as Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado, this is real bizzarre situation.
Noth is up.
Noth is up.
A friend of ours lives just outside Minneapolis and uses this bridge with some regularity, but was (thankfully) sitting at home in front of his TV when this happened. He sent us this link to photos.
Oh Fran Thank God your friend was not on that bridge! Those pics really put the devastation into prospective. It is amazing how that steel and concrete looks like something that could so easily break......... How sad for this community. Continued prayers and vibes for them all.
