Minneapolis river bridge!

[jeep_man_401]

Wait for to politics next time on the gas tax. Bet a hundred bucks somebody will use the "Governor didn't not allowing the gas tax raise and that is why this happened" slogan.

I say this is what happens when you get a bunch of jack-offs in office that can't manage the money they get already!!!!!!

How much did they spend revamping the the capital?

Also, anyone look at those Windows live maps and check out all the construction just behind the White House??

[fuzz401]

looks like it was a truss type bridge and some thing happend at one of the expanshion joints and at the bearings for it to happened

[jeepsr4ever]

Here is video Fuzz. Let us know what you think happened

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1ab_1186054443&p=1

[fuzz401]

like I said it looks like a truss style brige over the water and girders over the land some thing happened at the bearings/expanshion joint on the bridge were it broke there are stright edges on the bridge and that would be the expanshion joints are and at the piers are the bearings

at least it is not the link pin style that was used alot 10-15 years ago like on the one in I think it was Connecticut that fell down

[jeepsr4ever]

Their was a picture of one of the supports in the front near the collapse that loosed like it tipped over. Its going to be interesting to hear what happened but you can still see cars in the river!!

[dbesade]

i seen it on the news here i only thought stuff like
that happened out here after a 7.0 on the richter scale
you guys are way lucky you didn't get caught up in that mess.
hopefully nobody died and the engineers that designed it get
in big trouble.

That bridge is almost 50 years old according to the reports. The engineers that designed it are probably long dead.

Fuzz thats funny you mention the trusses and bearings a report in 1990 showed severe corrosion on the bearings but those were corrected and the bridge was being annually inspected.

I wonder if its due to the roadwork they were doing on the bridge? Maybe someone playing with a jackhammer hit the right spot or something?

-Dave

[Soylent_Green]

I wonder if its due to the roadwork they were doing on the bridge? Maybe someone playing with a jackhammer hit the right spot or something?

Well typically with this type of disaster, there are multiple small problems that, while by themselves pose no particular danger, together create a situation that couldn't possibly be predicted.

There were stress fractures around the tab welds that have been documented since the bridge was new.

The bearings showed corrosion and were repaired a number of years ago. Also, the workers that were currently resurfacing the deck were also doing repairs to a few joints. However, the crews were not actually doing anything at the time of colapse because of a shift change.

It was very hot in the middle of the day, and large bridges expand quite a bit on hot sunny days. (the reason for the bearings)

The low profile style of pier supports in the water have been known to, on other bridges, be undermined and weakened by long-term exposure to fast moving water.


I would have to say that a combination of all these things came together to cause this tradegy.

No doubt there will be an "Engineering Disasters" show on the history channel.

[xracer390]

Pictures from a Russian website???
http://drugoi.livejournal.com/2280005.html

Hey MC, Brek, missed you guys at the club meeting yesterday. Bob P (club member) works with the Anoka County dive team and he has been at the bridge almost since it happened.

He says they have located the missing comstruction worker. he is inside his skid steer and they wont be able to extract him untill they move alot of debris. There is also a family of 5 still missing.

One thing i dont get is the guys who drove off the bridge, swam to shore, went home and to work the next day. Didnt even tell anyone down there that they were ok. Police had to find thier car, run the plates then found them at work !

BB

[jeepsr4ever]

Stuck in his skid steer...that sucks

[Goose]

wow that website is wierd! they have more pictures than we did here... I wish I could translate it!