Bridge Collapse in Minnesota

[BudSooner]

on Fox News

[AllAboutThe'O']

Living about 50 miles east of Webbers Falls, and with that 2002 bridge collapse still fresh in my mind, that definitely hits close to home.

[Sooner98]

Whoa, did some sort of ship hit the bridge, like the one that hit I-40 at WF? How does a bridge just collapse like that?

[Turd_Ferguson]

The same way I-40 crosstown is going to one of these days, neglect. Hopefully the new I-40 will be up and running before it has the chance to.

[Sooner98]

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=44.978976,-93.244132&spn=0.004462,0.015213&t=k&z=17&om=1

[BudSooner]

Same here, we were heading towards the I-40, but due to traffic missed the collapse.

[HskrGrl]

Oh my gosh!! :( :( :( :( :(

[HskrGrl]

Whoa, did some sort of ship hit the bridge, like the one that hit I-40 at WF? How does a bridge just collapse like that?

How big would the ship have to be to cause a bridge that huge to collapse like that? Wouldn't they know by now if that had happened since someone would of seen a very large ship in the area at the time.

[BudSooner]

On Fox news, they said they don't "think it was terrorists"

But one witness said "there were explosions on the bridge"


due to traffic wrecks from the collapse?

[VeeJay]

Watching the video on Fox News. Cars tumbled and are upside down, on top of one another, etc. Big mess. Traffic will be a nightmare there for a while.

My company is located in Minneapolis. I hope they're OK.

I haven't heard reports of how many killed or injured. I think this just happened a short time ago.

[HskrGrl]

My first thought wouldn't be terrorists, but something faulty with the bridge it's self. They said crews have been doing some resurfacing for the past couple of weeks. But that would still seem unlikey to cause it to collapse.

[VeeJay]

They're confirming one death already. Cars in the river, the bridge collapsed onto cars below.

Damn. Prayers from here for those people.

[Turd_Ferguson]

In. RIP:(

[slickdawg]

Three dead confirmed now. I've driven over that bridge many times in the 90's.

[HskrGrl]

They just said that they are in a recovery effort in the river right now and not a rescue effort. Doesn't that mean they don't expect to find anyone else alive? :(

[slickdawg]

that would be foolish to say. you always are in a rescue mode for the first 24-72 hours.

[1stTimeCaller]

my lord, I know that they are doing their job but the expert being interviewed has already said that he's in his hotel room and his only info is from Fox news. It could be a myriad of causes, he cannot tell us exactly what caused the bridge collapse. Quit asking him if X was the reason it collapsed.

[BigRedJed]

Just from surfing through the map images on that link (I went upstream and down quite a few miles) it looks like there is quite a bit of barge traffic on that part of the river, much like on the Arkansas. It's also not the Mississipi like most everybody thinks about; it's narrow and pretty swift as it is close to its headwaters. I'm looking at that overhead image and seeing the twisty section of river around that bridge, swift water and no apparent collision protection for the bridge piers, and I'm guessing barge collision, just like Webbers Falls. There's also a lock right there, which would increase the navigational difficulty.

However, I don't see any mentions in the news regarding a barge. It does say that a train was passing underneath at the time of the collapse, and that workers were using jackhammers in the resurfacing effort. Neither should be enough to bring a bridge down, though. I'm guessing barge until further notice.

[BigRedJed]

That's just a few blocks from the Metrodome, BTW.

[sanantoniosooner]

They haven't ruled out scooters yet either.

[soonerboomer93]

now some technical difficulties...

[soonerboomer93]

they mentioned that stress fractures had been previously found in the structural steal.

depending on the steel grade and what the fractures were, it could be a major problem.

I will say this, visible stress fractures on structural steel is never a good thing...

[goingoneight]

Twins games is still going on according to CNN, 3 confirmed dead, obviously the injury count is still undetermined. Explosions are from the vehicles, fuel spills, etc. There is a burning tanker being hosed by the FD on TV right now, so that's another explosion.
High water can corrosion and damage pillars and supports on a bridge, too... and we've definitely seen high water all over the country this year.

[1stTimeCaller]

combined with jackhammers, even less of a good thing

[HskrGrl]

This whole thing is just so sad!! :(

[swardboy]

When I went to google earth i clicked on thingy that took me to wikipedia that said the bridge was NOTABLE for not having any piers in the water...in other words it spanned the entire river with no piers, unlike the other bridges around it.....wish someone on tv would note this...

[soonerboomer93]

http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=3947270&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1

Yeah, piers are right next to shore according to the sites

[SOONER STEAKER]

Brings back memories of the South Padre Island Bridge that was hit by the barge as well as the Webbers Falls Bridge.

Prayers to all Minnesodians!!

[olevetonahill]

Saying 6 dead now :(

[AllAboutThe'O']

The Twins have already announced they're postponing tomorrow's game and they're postponing the groundbreaking ceremony for their new stadium, also tomorrow.

[royalfan5]

Hopefully this type of thing doesn't become more common as the nations infrastructure ages. Many areas of the country have been coasting on investment from the 40 to the 60's for too long now, and it may become a huge issue soon.

[12]

Word from OdaNorth is that he and his are all ok... i know that almost seems silly, but i remember calling family after the OKC bombing just to let them know.

It'll be structural failure, I would imagine. Sad, but our resident bugeater has it right... these structures are not getting any younger and just imagine the stress these things go through each and every day.

OKC is in for a disaster if they don't do something soon about I40.

[mdklatt]

Hopefully this type of thing doesn't become more common as the nations infrastructure ages. Many areas of the country have been coasting on investment from the 40 to the 60's for too long now, and it may become a huge issue soon.

Oklahoma is repeatedly listed as having some of the worst bridges in the country.

[OUHOMER]

This is a sad event no doubt , but i went to bed at 1100 pm. I get up and the media has been going at it all night. how many angles can they take to keep this story on the air. I Know people want to find out about family and friends etc. but they keep asking the same redundant questions and add nothing to what we don't already know.

[Mjcpr]

There's video of the actual collapse on CNN's main page.

http://www.cnn.com/

[VeeJay]

This is a sad event no doubt , but i went to bed at 1100 pm. I get up and the media has been going at it all night. how many angles can they take to keep this story on the air. I Know people want to find out about family and friends etc. but they keep asking the same redundant questions and add nothing to what we don't already know.

Yep - I heard a reporter this morning interviewing an eyewitness, and asked him "what did it sound like?"

How the hell do you answer that? Start making noises and wierd faces for the camera, acting like the skinny black dude from "Police Academy?"

[Hot Rod]

OKC is in for a disaster if they don't do something soon about I40.

I still don't enjoy driving it. Everytime I drive over the Webbers Falls bridge, I can't help but think of that tragedy as well.

This is a very tragic situation. Prayers are with all who are involved.

[soonerboy_odanorth]

Well, things are a mess.

To summarize, no suspected terrorist activity, no water traffic (barges, etc.) involved, "just" a massive structural failure. 4 confirmed dead, 20 missing, 79 injured (six critical, last I heard, with blunt force trauma and internal injuries).
Hwy 280, which really is more of a street, has been turned into an alternate route with lights all green. But it really isn't helping...gridlock galore. Red Cross is asking for blood donations.

There are some miraculous stories of people "riding the bridge" all the way down into the water and walking away with only minor injuries. Also, school bus with 60 children between the ages of 4 and 5 had just gotten off the part that went down into the water and all are safe and reunited with their families.

It's frightening to realize that just two weeks later and I might have been on the bridge. That's the route my baby and I take to the state fair. I usually pick her up from work downtown and we go over.

Prayers to all the dead and injured and their families...

[Ike]

Last night, I was hearing 7 confirmed dead. Did 3 of them become zombies?

[soonerboy_odanorth]

Last night, I was hearing 7 confirmed dead. Did 3 of them become zombies?

The 7 confirmed dead last night was bad data gathering from the news outlets. No shock there. As of this morning the official count was 4. But speculation is that the number will rise greatly when and if they are able to locate the 20+ missing.

Check this out from startribune.com :

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

[Ike]

The 7 confirmed dead last night was bad data gathering from the news outlets. No shock there. As of this morning the official count was 4. But speculation is that the number will rise greatly when and if they are able to locate the 20+ missing.

Check this out from startribune.com :

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


Thanks. I figured that was the case...funny how all the major news outlets were reporting the same bad number though. Its like none of them actually have their own reporters that go and check into these things.

[mdklatt]

Thanks. I figured that was the case...funny how all the major news outlets were reporting the same bad number though. Its like none of them actually have their own reporters that go and check into these things.

Heaven forbid they don't jump on every unsubstantiated rumor as soon as it pops up, and if another news outlet says the same thing (even though they're using the same primary source) it's a "confirmation". :rolleyes:

[Osce0la]

Here in Birmingham they were reporting 9 confirmed dead as of 10:30 pm last night.

[HskrGrl]

I am still getting chills thinking about this. :( I can't even imagine going through what the survivors (and those that lost their lives) went through during the collapse and then trying to escape afterward. I have been praying for them so much since I heard about it.

Having this happen makes me even more nervous about driving over these two bridges. We drive over them everytime we drive into downtown (probably once or twice a week). They are the longest and second longest floating bridges in the world. Are those any more safe structurally then normal bridges? Gosh I hope so!

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f3/jessisfarks/EvergreenBridge.jpg

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f3/jessisfarks/Murrow_Memorial_Bridge.jpg

[Osce0la]

Don't know if this video has been posted yet. I guess this is from a security camera...

The bridge collapsing (http://www.myfoxal.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=D0E6AF26AF79C7945C51A69846A7E827 ?contentId=3952739&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1)

[Osce0la]

Just realized it was posted on the second page...my bad...

[BigRedJed]

For the record, I was wrong. Just thought you would all enjoy seeing me admit that.

[SoonerBOI]

Prayers are sent.