bridge collapse in MN
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Tempe, AZ
Posts: 2,968
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
bridge collapse in MN
aw, jeez.
a bridge collapsed in Minneapolis.
I'm watching MSNBC coverage right now. cars, walkers and cyclists on the bridge.
a bridge collapsed in Minneapolis.
I'm watching MSNBC coverage right now. cars, walkers and cyclists on the bridge.
__________________
"Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world". ~Grant Petersen
Cyclists fare best when they recognize that there are times when acting vehicularly is not the best practice, and are flexible enough to do what is necessary as the situation warrants.--Me
"Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world". ~Grant Petersen
Cyclists fare best when they recognize that there are times when acting vehicularly is not the best practice, and are flexible enough to do what is necessary as the situation warrants.--Me
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 522
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Devastating. Inexplicable.
Please, God, let the casualties be low. But I fear dozens will be lost.
It's impossible to watch this. It's impossible not to.
Please, God, let the casualties be low. But I fear dozens will be lost.
It's impossible to watch this. It's impossible not to.
#3
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Ogopogo's shoreline
Posts: 4,082
Bikes: LHT, Kona Smoke
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times
in
3 Posts
It's a 40 year old bridge.
I'm afraid this is going to happen more frequently as the infrastructure crumbles, and the traffic volume increases.
I'm afraid this is going to happen more frequently as the infrastructure crumbles, and the traffic volume increases.
#4
One Hep Cat
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: N 44.91577 W093.25327
Posts: 748
Bikes: Surly Cross-Check (commuter), Lemond Sarthe (sports car), Schwinn fixed gear conversion (for fun)
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
The sound from the emergency vehicles has continued steadilly for 2 hours now. The coverage is on CNN and all the local news stations. A co-worker that I contacted (because he had to cross the bridge to go to client meeting this aftenoon) told me that he heard about it on the BBC(!). So far, CNN is confirming 3 known dead, but it was rush hour and the highway was very full, so the news will likely get worse. Very tragic news for the Twin Cities.
#6
``````````````
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: san jose
Posts: 763
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Fortunately, it happened after 6pm, so it was after most of rush hour. Still a very busy road. Just terrible.
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: northern California
Posts: 5,603
Bikes: Bruce Gordon BLT, Cannondale parts bike, Ecodyne recumbent trike, Counterpoint Opus 2, miyata 1000
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I saw that trains run under the bridge on the shore of the river. Vibrations accelerating failure of the bridge? Part of the repair work was dealing with cracks in the bridge.
#8
tired
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 5,651
Bikes: Breezer Uptown 8, U frame
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
2 Posts
There's a Fooster who will be going to Minneapolis to help. He'll be salvage diving in the Mississippi.
__________________
"Real wars of words are harder to win. They require thought, insight, precision, articulation, knowledge, and experience. They require the humility to admit when you are wrong. They recognize that the dialectic is not about making us look at you, but about us all looking together for the truth."
"Real wars of words are harder to win. They require thought, insight, precision, articulation, knowledge, and experience. They require the humility to admit when you are wrong. They recognize that the dialectic is not about making us look at you, but about us all looking together for the truth."
#9
Perineal Pressurized
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: In Ebritated
Posts: 6,555
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
2 Posts
The repair work was confined to resurfacing the deck, a common bridge refurbishment task.
__________________
This is Africa, 1943. War spits out its violence overhead and the sandy graveyard swallows it up. Her name is King Nine, B-25, medium bomber, Twelfth Air Force. On a hot, still morning she took off from Tunisia to bomb the southern tip of Italy. An errant piece of flak tore a hole in a wing tank and, like a wounded bird, this is where she landed, not to return on this day, or any other day.
This is Africa, 1943. War spits out its violence overhead and the sandy graveyard swallows it up. Her name is King Nine, B-25, medium bomber, Twelfth Air Force. On a hot, still morning she took off from Tunisia to bomb the southern tip of Italy. An errant piece of flak tore a hole in a wing tank and, like a wounded bird, this is where she landed, not to return on this day, or any other day.
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: New Haven, CT
Posts: 222
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
The concern for walkers and cyclists is that they might be under the bridge. I ride under it every day on my commute. If a nasty cold didn't have me riding the bus, I probably would have been underneath it on the north side within minutes of the collapse.
Rode by there this morning; the road is blocked off, but even from 2 blocks north I can see that it collapsed right where I normally ride.
Rode by there this morning; the road is blocked off, but even from 2 blocks north I can see that it collapsed right where I normally ride.
#11
Perineal Pressurized
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: In Ebritated
Posts: 6,555
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
2 Posts
New Haven to the Twin Cities, that's a heck of a commute.
__________________
This is Africa, 1943. War spits out its violence overhead and the sandy graveyard swallows it up. Her name is King Nine, B-25, medium bomber, Twelfth Air Force. On a hot, still morning she took off from Tunisia to bomb the southern tip of Italy. An errant piece of flak tore a hole in a wing tank and, like a wounded bird, this is where she landed, not to return on this day, or any other day.
This is Africa, 1943. War spits out its violence overhead and the sandy graveyard swallows it up. Her name is King Nine, B-25, medium bomber, Twelfth Air Force. On a hot, still morning she took off from Tunisia to bomb the southern tip of Italy. An errant piece of flak tore a hole in a wing tank and, like a wounded bird, this is where she landed, not to return on this day, or any other day.
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: New Haven, CT
Posts: 222
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
#13
i like mud
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Mighty City by the Mighty Mississippi
Posts: 392
Bikes: Trek 7.2 FX WSD, beaters
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Charleston, WV
Posts: 1,768
Bikes: Trek Mountaineer modified with a NuVinci; Montegue Paratrooper folding mountain bike; Greenspeed recumbent; Surly Big Dummy with Stokemonkey
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
2 Posts
In Europe I have seen bridges built by the ancient Romans which are still standing and still in use after more than two thousand years, yet we have bridges collapsing after 30 or so years. What did the Romans know that we don't?
#15
Healthy and active
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Caldwell, Idaho USA
Posts: 887
Bikes: mid-60's Dunelt 10-speed, Specialized Allez Sport Tripple, Trek 7.2 FX
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
A bridge engineer interviewed on a news program said that bridges had always been designed with redundancy. If one support member failed, adjacent parts of the frame absorbed the load. But, in the 1960s bridges were designed with computer software that did not consider redundancy. The bridge that failed in Minneapolis would not be built today, nor in the decades shortly after this bridge was built.
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,615
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
And what percentage of ancient Roman bridges do you suppose are actually still standing?
On that note--- being a stone mason was the bleeding edge of technology for centuries.... now working construction is, well, working construction.... and engineering bridges isn't exactly the sexiest thing in today's world.
On that note--- being a stone mason was the bleeding edge of technology for centuries.... now working construction is, well, working construction.... and engineering bridges isn't exactly the sexiest thing in today's world.
#17
Banned.
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: San Diego
Posts: 13,075
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
A bridge engineer interviewed on a news program said that bridges had always been designed with redundancy. If one support member failed, adjacent parts of the frame absorbed the load. But, in the 1960s bridges were designed with computer software that did not consider redundancy. The bridge that failed in Minneapolis would not be built today, nor in the decades shortly after this bridge was built.
[*] House of cards.
[*] Domino design.
Hopefully they don't check those options on the bridge design software anymore.
Design software in the 1960s? That's scary in and of itself. Probably some Fortran hack (yes, I know that's redundant).
#18
Healthy and active
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Caldwell, Idaho USA
Posts: 887
Bikes: mid-60's Dunelt 10-speed, Specialized Allez Sport Tripple, Trek 7.2 FX
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
We were flying home from vacation on August 1 and landed in Minneapolis just about the exact time the bridge fell. We saw local news coverage on TV monitors in airport shops. At the same time we had loose arrangements to meet a friend who lives very near to the Twin Cities. She was to come to the airport and have supper with us. She did not show. We phoned repeatedly her home, but there was no answer. We imagined the worst as a possibility. Finally, a week later we heard from her. She had been out of town caring for her ill sister. But, she also told us barge traffic upriver to docks in the near downtown Minneapolis area is blocked by the wreckage of the bridge. Quite a few people are now laid off because their companies are tied to shipping and receiving by barge.
Last edited by twobikes; 08-09-07 at 05:50 AM. Reason: spelling error
#19
Blasted Weeds
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 1,182
Bikes: Trek 1200C, Specialized Rockhopper, Giant Yukon FX, Giant Acapulco
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
We've had already for the last 3 days two crews working here in Rochester, NY examining the two bridges of the same design. News pics show lots of people on the bridge, hanging off the bridge and scraping stuff from it - have a machine with a long arm that's pointing under the bridge (I'm sure that's vid) and divers examining the base.
They wasted no time!
They wasted no time!
#20
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Erie, CO
Posts: 21
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Roman infrastructure collapsed quite often if my college humanities professor was correct.
Modern bridges are generally very safe and usually significantly overbuilt. A few aging bridges collapse every year, especially those that were designed poorly, but overall they hold up extremely well.
#21
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Charleston, WV
Posts: 1,768
Bikes: Trek Mountaineer modified with a NuVinci; Montegue Paratrooper folding mountain bike; Greenspeed recumbent; Surly Big Dummy with Stokemonkey
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
2 Posts
We were flying home from vacation on August 1 and landed in Minneapolis just about the exact time the bridge fell. We saw local news coverage on TV monitors in airport shops. At the same time we had loose arrangements to meet a friend who lives very near to the Twin Cities. She was to come to the airport and have supper with us. She did not show. We phoned repeatedly her home, but there was no answer. We imagined the worst as a possibility. Finally, a week later we heard from her. She had been out of town caring for her ill sister. But, she also told us barge traffic upriver to docks in the near downtown Minneapolis area is blocked by the wreckage of the bridge. Quite a few people are now laid off because their companies are tied to shipping and receiving by barge.