Major I-35 bridge collapse TWIN CITIES

My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the victims, Hopefully all family, friends & HAMB members are safe.

 

Wow that is aweful.

 

It was a bit nerve racking for me as my wife goes to school in the evenings at the U of M right near the bridge. Luckily she doesn't need to cross the bridge to get to class. A phone call form her at about 7:30 calmed my fears.

Speaking of phone calls, they have said that the increased cell phone traffic in the area is making it difficult to get a hold of anyone. They have requested us locals to stay of cell phones for a while.

Prayers to all of those involved.

 

Yes, they are asking folks who are trying to get ahold of loved ones in the area to do so via email, and for folks in the area to inform their loved ones via emails that they are ok.

Just awful

 

I was in the cities today- thank god I wasnt near that bridge. Its bad- I've been calling friends to make sure nobody got caught up in it-

 

We were lucky we only had to call her folks in Chicago as they already knew she was OK.

 

thank god for msn and email, i think i must have redialed those cell phone numbers enough times to imprint the digits on my fingers. hope your all safe over there guys

 

As of 10:45 PM tonight they have confirmed 7 dead. They said they inspected the @50 cars that were on the bridge. All of the survivors have been rescued. I don't know if that means they know there are more dead that they haven't recovered. They are also saying that there is 1 construction worker that is unaccounted for. The news here is saying it WAS NOT a terrorist act. Just a 40 year old steel bridge in a state that loves road salt that appears to have failed.
It has been live on the news here since it happened at 6:05 pm.
This is REALLY going to screw up traffic here, as they say as many as 200,000 cars passed over that bridge a day!

 

A bridge expert was on the local FOX news. In an inspection done several years ago the finding was that there was some metal fatigue. Instead of spending money on our roads we have light rail.I can now drive to downtown and get on the light rail and go to the the Mega Mall and get mugged.

 

Prayers for the victims and families I Hope all your People are OK

 

I would take that road to BTT50's and come in othe the north side of the fairgrounds. I never liked that bridge. I switched to going up 35E. I hope this gets the state house of their dead asses and start to finance the road construction we need.

& prayers to all involved

 

A lot of truth there. We have millions to spend on a rinky-dink train.

I drove the semi across that bridge a lot....'til I took on a different gig and it takes me down I-35E.

 

During Cinematic we went through one of the museums and checked out the pictures after the bridge collapse near there in Point Pleasant.
I think over 40 people died on that bridge during rush hour. It was metal fatigue of a weld of one of the joints in 1969.
The pictures were unbelievable to see the twisted large beams laying in rubble in the Ohio river. this is horrible.

 

This shit happens because the people at the capitol keep taking money out of the transportation fund which comes from the gas tax, and they put it in the general fund to lower property taxes and pay for welfare. They just can't stop spending our money on crap. Then they tell us that they have to raise the gas tax because our roads and bridges need repair and there is no money to fund the work. Wisconsin govenor Jim Doyle just moved 1 billion of road money into the general fund. We should all write him and let him know how we feel about this.

 

I drive back and forth over that bridge a few times every week to visit with customers of mine. It's a scary thought man... Worse than that, a colleague of mine told me this morning that his wife and two daughters drove over the bridge about 20 minutes before the collapse...

 

That's how they buy votes- using our tax money. Get used to it, it's done that way all over the country.

 

Makes me feel so good about spending soooo much money to fight a oil war in Iraq while our transportation system is falling apart. Hell we won't need oil if it keeps going this way.

 

Yahoo has surviellence video of the collapse on their main page.

http://www.yahoo.com/s/642339

Scary stuff

 

The money is 90/10 from federal cuz it's federal freeway, 80% of the money for light rail came from federal gov, my wife rides the light rail every day and it saves her time and money( about $100 to park in an open lot and still walk 10 blocks).
BUT my son works for PCI, the contractor thats doing the work on the roadway, he was scheduled to be there today. Still one guy missing from the crew, not to mention the cars/trucks that went in the water.
Prayers for all involved.....

 

my dad and bro drove accrosed it tusday.....they are there all week had a hard time geting a hold of them last nite wa sa little woried

 

Minnesota law requires all of the gas tax to be spent on roads (read that roads not transportation like the rail line even). We also just passed a law that mandates that all of the auto sales tax is dedicated to roads. the fact of the matter is that in MN, we have been given huge income tax breaks over the last 10-15 years also. If the money ends up being the root of the problem, I don't think we should just blame the welfare people, I think we should all stand back and think about what we got, instead of paying for repairs.

Someone above said that on the news they said that the inspection last year found no structural problems, that is not true. Last year's report said that there were significant structural problems, here is a statement from an even earlier federal report:

"In 2005, the 40-year-old bridge had been rated as "structurally deficient" and possibly in need of replacement, according to a federal database. The span rated 50 on a scale of 120 for structural stability in that review, White House press secretary Tony Snow said." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070802/ap_on_re_us/bridge_collapse

That's why I quit using that bridge -- I just wish I could get these reports on others.

 

America needs to spend money on.....America.
Improve OUR infrastructure, hospitals, schools, border security, etc., etc.
The United States of America is still the greatest country in the world although, we need to take care of our own. We can't be spending these outrageous amounts of money on political campaigns around the world, trying to prop up countrys that will be in chaos no matter what we do, contributing to nations around the world who will never be a friend of America, etc., etc.
America should take care of America first.
This bridge didn't have to collapse. These people didn't have to die.
We can no longer afford to be the world's babysitter and police force.
Lets get our roads and bridges repaired before this happens again.
There are thousands of bridges in our country that are in the same state of disrepair. Which one will be next to fail? Who will die?

My heartbreak of last night's news coverage has been replaced with frustration and anger.

My heart goes out to all who suffer...

 

There are so many things wrong here. A bridge doesn't just fall down. You would think that some event occurred to cause this. I agree with everything that is said above about the money going to the welfare system and Iraq and every other place in the world. I've been saying for years that the newspapers across the country need to publish a list of other countries that we send tax dollars to and how much. I think Americans would be outraged to discover how much money is going to foreign lands, some we don't even know exist. How many more Americans have to die in the name of the "new world order". It's unexcuseable for this sort of thing to happen in the most prosperous country in the world. Sadly, nothing will change and most Americans will forget about it in a week or two. Geez, what next?

 

they haven't said yet what caused it to fall down , i think we should wait and see

 

Alas, with a truss type construction over that size span, a failure (probably fatigue through corrosion) of just one critical connection in the whole truss will create a 'mechanism' and instant catastrophic collapse as seen here.

And it seems this one may not have been in the best of health either.
This type of bridge constrcution is relatively cheap to build, but to ensure longevity, costs a fortune in maintenance compared to a other types, which is why it's really not used any more.

As a Structural Engineer, this sad event became a much talked about subject in the office today.

Thoughts to all affected

 

Terrible just terrible, our hearts go out to anybody involved or related, it's got to be tough. Rags

 

Tax breaks? Minnesota is in the top 5 of all states in State Income tax...

 

I have gone across this bridge hundreds of times in cars and semi's.
Crossed it when the inspection boom trucks were looking for problems under the roadway. Our Mn DOT is one of the best at keeping things moving here with all kinds of road work.

This was a wake up call to all those who want to cut taxes and look good in the eyes of the voters. Services get cut, like road work, plowing and other safety issues. Money is diverted to other projects. The things that keep people safe are neglected, just to say I didn't raise taxes. Now they will be raising sunken cars and concrete and steel and hopefully no more peoples loved ones.

One can only point the finger at those who do not keep the the welfare of the people there first priority, instead of there own gains and making there selves look good. Let the chips fall where they may on this one!

Four dead people who meant everything to there families will never come home again. The 30 injured people will hopefully recover. 20 or 30 missing. The GOP presidential convention will be held in Minneapolis shortly. Promises made by the goverment on this tragedy will be close at hand, lets hope it's not another Katrina. All the bridges in the Country deserve no less, it's time to act in the best interest of everyone. God Bless America

 

the problem isn't that we are not paying enough taxes...it's what they are spending it on

when budgets get cut , they always cut the stuff that will punish us the most..not the really useless stuff

how this can be blamed on not paying enough taxes is just beyond belief