I have been on that bridge many times. That one worries me a lot.

the news said that the bridge was under repairs when it collapsed but the before pics really dont show any repair ?..what a tragedy..

They were doing road resurfacing and repairing/replacing guard rails on the bridge.

As for the passing inspections, that's a technicality. It was deemed in need of repair, but given an ok to continue use. There was a comment that collapse was possible if the roadbed was to come apart, but was unlikely to happen in the near future. That was just a couple years ago, from what the interviews I've seen said. I think the construction workers just may have reached that spot.

Here are a bunch more detailed pics:

Collapse pictures

Still shocking. My prayers go out to everyone involved.

What a crazy feeling that would be to suddenly have the freakin road drop out from underneath you and to land on someone elses roof with metal and concrete falling everywhere, meanwhile other cars are falling into the water, a train getting squashed and fires breaking out! Damn--IT!

That is just nuts! Sad though that it once again takes a bad event for people to act.

An article came out today saying over 70,000 bridges in the US have been noted as not passing inspection!

Tim

I drove under the bridge about 15 minutes or so before the collapse. The bridge went down at about 6pm, and I was on the scene by about 6:30. I was able to make my way to within about 30 feet of the collapsed bridge on the northwest shoreline. The devistation in unimaginable.

There was still a fire on the bridge by the schoolbus, and I saw many twisted and mangled cars. There was re-bar protruding out of the cement chunks, and Iron gurders that were twisted like a bowl of pasta. I am sad to say that we did witness one body being removed from the site.

There was no way that I could help in the rescue effort. Even though I was able to get close to the scene, Police, and rescue workers would not let any civilians get near. I'd like to take just a moment to applaud the rescue response to this disaster. I have never seen so many police cars, fire trucks, and rescue/recovery crews in one area in my whole life. It was extremely well orchestrated based upon the circumstances.

My heart goes out to those people who were just trying to get to their destination....and didn't make it. My prayers go out to their friends and families, and of course, the people who are trying to rescue and recover.

It's just unreal. I was in the elevator on the way down after work and my co-worker got a call from his friend Emily, saying she wasn't going to make it to their get together that night, the bridge on 35 collapsed and she couldn't go any further. She was pretty calm, so we thought she was stuck in traffic before the bridge....nope, she was ON the bridge! A boat came and got her and he picked her up at the U of M campus a couple hours later.

Here's a pic of her car on his blog, it's the black pontiac:
http://www.xanga.com/mundsen611

In relation to the bridge, my fiance drives that route on Fridays for work, and my Bro-in Law drove under it about 30min before it collapsed on his motorcycle (next to the train that is crushed). I don't go near it, but I drive a Jeep to work with air lockers front/back and a lift, so being the complete dufus that I am, if I saw that, or was on it, I'd be aired down, locked in low and trying to crawl out....yeah right, I'd be cleaning my shorts!

Bizarre deal- Luckily we're nowhere close to it where we live, but it's very 'local' all points considered.

Some things I noticed:

They say there were 50 cars on the bridge at the time of collapse. I'd expect at least that many fatalities. It seems the actual number is much, much lower. That is really something when you consider the structure fell more than 60 feet, and much of it into a river averaging 10 feet in depth at that point.

The cause? We won't know for awhile, but there are several factors to consider:

It was a very hot and humid day, over 90 degrees.

There was work being done on the bridge, and sections of the concrete deck were removed.

The 50 or so vehicles on the bridge at the time were moving at 10mph or less. There could have been many more vehicles on the bridge if it weren't for the construction taking place.

The bridge was equipped with a computer-controlled anti-ice system. Why is this worthy of mention? Because this spray system hits the exact same places, and the anti-ice fluids drain in the exact same pattern every time it's used. If these fluids are the least bit corrosive to the bridge, this type of system could accelerate corrosion.

And, finally- the train running alongside the bridge. It was already mentioned how much bridges move when big trucks go over them. It could also be mentioned how much the ground moves when trains roll on by. Add these two together, and there's a fair amount of vibration going through the structure.

I'm sure people a lot smarter than me will come up with a very accurate conclusion, but these are just a few things I noticed as the non-stop coverage has been going on.

For what it's worth, if this tragedy means all other bridges get more frequent and intense inspections, that's one upside. Lives across the country and even around the world will be saved, and these people will not have died in vain. Obviously, there are lessons to be learned here, and we will learn them, but they are obviously very expensive lessons indeed.

~SP~