I-35W highway bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed.

[mazersteven]

I hope our friends in Minneapolis are safe.

Freeway bridge collapses into river during rush hour in Minneapolis.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/01/bridge.collapse.ap/index.html

www.foxnews.com

 

[avaserfi]

Wow, I was driving on that bridge less then two weeks ago, a little bit of a shocker...

Hope everyone makes it out okay. Good luck to any involved.

 

[Johnd]

Yeah: prayers to anyone that was hurt or killed.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I hope our friends in Minneapolis are safe.

Freeway bridge collapses into river during rush hour in Minneapolis.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/01/bridge.collapse.ap/index.html

www.foxnews.com

At this hour, there are reports of deaths already, 3.

 

[dorokusai]

That's just amazing. I can't imagine the logistical problems this has created in regards to infrastructure, reconstruction, debris removal, etc.

Mark

 

[avaserfi]

As time goes on the numbers have to increase: 6 dead with 37 confirmed injured. I couldn't find the extent of the injuries but its safe to assume that some are critical with the size of this catastrophe.

 

[mazersteven]

I couldn't find the extent of the injuries but its safe to assume that some are critical with the size of this catastrophe.

I've heard lose of limbs, and major internal injuries.

 

[dem beats]

I was there

Me and the girl were on the bike literaly a block away.

If I wouldn't have taken so long getting dressed we would have been on it with my scooter... It was pretty bad.

A school buss fell. 35 is all closed Bad bad news. We didnt' even know what happened.
This will be a cluster**** for whom ever miss calculated, no earthquake nothing to "cause" it.

 

[mazersteven]

Me and the girl were on the bike literaly a block away.

Very glad to hear your girl, and you are OK.

 

[Tomorrow]

This is very sad. I hope we all contribute in some way to support this community and the affected families.

 

[dem beats]

Very glad to hear your girl, and you are OK.

I was cool while we were driving met a friend to go shopping.... thank GOD I was late!

I mean no loud boom just a little rumble as it fell we were 100 yards away. At the resteraunt it started to sink in though... I think the news freaked me out and I got a bloody nose probably combination of ibuprofine and high BP pluss it sinking in... so now i'm home and it's weird.

I mean we saw the smoke coming up and the steam from water etc...

On the bike I can cover 100 yards in a few seconds... really get the chills later. one woman panicked so bad in this red pontiac grand am eyes were all wide driving down the wrong way on the highway, as 2 state troopers flew past on the construction shoulder.. thats when we knew it must be bad and not just a car accident.

 

[dorokusai]

It looked to me as though the reports of the school bus are inaccurate at best, unless I'm not seeing something. The school bus is on the far side of the collapse and it looks intact. I recall a head count of the children on board being listed as well.

Mark

 

[dem beats]

It looked to me as though the reports of the school bus are inaccurate at best, unless I'm not seeing something. The school bus is on the far side of the collapse and it looks intact. I recall a head count of the children on board being listed as well.

Mark

I only heard there was one on the bridge, just a report of it. It hasn't been shown on the news i have on yet.

deaths are at 6 at least, no good for them and theirs but it could have been sooo much worse.

still have one missing construction worker too I guess.

 

[mazersteven]

I only heard there was one on the bridge, just a report of it. It hasn't been shown on the news i have on yet.

deaths are at 6 at least, no good for them and theirs but it could have been sooo much worse.

still have one missing construction worker too I guess.

Over 50 cars are under the water the Coast Guard is reporting.

CNN reporting that the kids in the bus are OK.

 

[dem beats]

Over 50 cars are under the water the Coast Guard is reporting.

CNN reporting that the kids in the bus are OK.

it was really crazy on the way home. about 2 miles down on my way north of the cities there was rain and fog and lightning and everything creepy. I hope the weather doesn't travel south, that is the last thing they need.

 

[stratman]

What caused the collapse?

 

[mazersteven]

What caused the collapse?

No one knows at this point. It might be some time before they know.

 

[stratman]

Was it a relatively new bridge? Or old going through rehab?

 

[mazersteven]

Was it a relatively new bridge? Or old going through rehab?

The type of bridge at a section of Interstate 35W that collapsed Wednesday evening in Minneapolis was a Steel Arch Deck Truss Bridge which opened in November of 1967.

The height of the bridge above the river was 64 feet. The river elevation at the point of the bridge is 725 feet with a navigation channel width of 390 feet.

The total length of the bridge was 1,907 feet, with the longest span measuring 458 feet. The width was 108 feet with 8 lanes of traffic.

The bridge's claim to fame was that it was built with a single 458 foot long steel arch to avoid putting any piers in the water to impede river navigation.

The bridge featured an anti-ice system. A series of PVC pipes carried a deicer fluid to outlets that were drilled into the deck of the bridge. When the temperature for ice was right, the deicer fluid would be pumped onto the bridge deck. That system was proven to be successful enough that it was installed on other bridges in Minnesota.

 

[stratman]

The type of bridge at a section of Interstate 35W that collapsed Wednesday evening in Minneapolis was a Steel Arch Deck Truss Bridge which opened in November of 1967.

The height of the bridge above the river was 64 feet. The river elevation at the point of the bridge is 725 feet with a navigation channel width of 390 feet.

The total length of the bridge was 1,907 feet, with the longest span measuring 458 feet. The width was 108 feet with 8 lanes of traffic.

The bridge's claim to fame was that it was built with a single 458 foot long steel arch to avoid putting any piers in the water to impede river navigation.

The bridge featured an anti-ice system. A series of PVC pipes carried a deicer fluid to outlets that were drilled into the deck of the bridge. When the temperature for ice was right, the deicer fluid would be pumped onto the bridge deck. That system was proven to be successful enough that it was installed on other bridges in Minnesota.

40 year old bridge, under heavy stress, who knows when the last inspection was done. Someone's head will roll.