WI - 35W bridge in Minneapolis collapses!

[Gina_M]

Originally Posted by JBean
Car Pulled From Water at Bridge Site
By HENRY C. JACKSON and MARK SCOLFORO 08.04.07, 6:36 PM ET

MINNEAPOLIS -
Search crews pulled a crushed car out of the murky water Saturday where a bridge collapsed, and authorities said it was the only car they had found in which the passengers were unaccounted for.

Yes, this is what I was responding to - even if bodies haven't been found yet, they probably looked up the license plate and realized the owner of the car was still missing. Sorry if I'm not making myself clear...I'm not feeling well and need to go lie down!

 

[SeriouslySearching]

Maybe they need to slow down and start closing some bridges nationwide until they really get a handle on things. Why wait for the other "shoe to drop"? They keep saying, "If we think they are that bad, we will close them.". We see how well that worked out with this bridge. It should have been closed.

 

[narlacat]

I actually have a fear of bridges, this is my worst nightmare..

My heart goes out to all the people that died in this disaster- what a tragedy.

 

[Mysticchic]

I think they are going to find some bodies down river. Very sad.
The Skyway Bridge in Chicago was sold to a private firm a few years back from the City Of Chicago. They make millions off that bridge a year.
I hope they keep up to date with that one.

 

[Elphaba]

I saw an interview with Vera Peck's daughters and they were talking about their brother, Richard Chit, and the bond he had with his mother. He has downs syndrome... their words conveyed that to know they were together was some small comfort because they think one couldn't survive without the other... that "maybe that's just the way it's supposed to be."
I sat there watching the interview, wiping away tears... it's heartbreaking...

 

[luthersmama]

I've just been catching up here.

Sad.

Might be a good idea to start charging a toll on heavily traveled roads and bridges AFTER a certain age date, and rather before wear begins in earnest.

Many things our government does now need to be looked at very very hard. Individually as human beings would never even consider spending out neighbors money with gay abandon.

.

Even better - build them with toll booths and start charging at the get-go so there will be enough money.

 

[Mygirlsadie]

The rescue divers and all the people involved are doing everything they can and going above and beyond to find everyone. Obviously this dad is in much pain which I couldnt even begin to imagine ...

My neighbor works with some of the missings relatives. They claimed the 2 yr olds Dad was in bad shape. He wants them found ASAP. So it could of been him. He feels they're wasting time & not doing enough. God bless him!

 

[Buzz Mills]

Yes, this is what I was responding to - even if bodies haven't been found yet, they probably looked up the license plate and realized the owner of the car was still missing. Sorry if I'm not making myself clear...I'm not feeling well and need to go lie down!

My apologies Gina M; hope you are feeling better today.

 

[cheko1]

The rescue divers and all the people involved are doing everything they can and going above and beyond to find everyone. Obviously this dad is in much pain which I couldnt even begin to imagine ...

Yes everything is being done to find the bodies.

I feel so sorry for everyone involved, its such a tragedy.

 

[Mysticchic]

Even better - build them with toll booths and start charging at the get-go so there will be enough money.

Chicago just sold (or leased) the Skyway to a private firm a few years ago. It cost 2.00 a car and a lot more for trucks. Maybe some other cities should think about this. The company has to take care of the updates and the city makes money off the contract.

 

[Buzz Mills]

Infrastructure Report Card 2005
http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/index2005.cfm

Bridges

Between 2000 and 2003, the percentage of the nation's 590,750 bridges rated structurally deficient or functionally obsolete decreased slightly from 28.5% to 27.1%. However, it will cost $9.4 billion a year for 20 years to eliminate all bridge deficiencies. Long-term underinvestment is compounded by the lack of a Federal transportation program.

http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/page.cfm?id=22

 

[Buzz Mills]

I-35W Bridge Damaged Mississippi Lock, Shut Down Waterway

People, cars and a train weren't the only things that the I-35W bridge took out on its six-story plummet into the Mississippi River. Part of it also landed on a lock and dam operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "The collapse fell on the guidewall," says Aaron Snyder, spokesman for the Corps St. Paul District. Though crews have not yet been able to pull the mangled bridge from the lock to assess the damage, another district official says it "appears very slight." The lock, located just upstream from the collapse, is being used to move recovery boats back and forth from the scene. Two other locks, one upstream and one downstream, are shut down to commercial traffic While recovery work continues.

Local police are still treating the site as a crime scene, though state and federal officials have not indicated that foul play caused the collapse. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading a federal investigation. State officials are leading independent but coordinated investigations.

Recovery efforts are moving forward nearly two days after the collapse of the I-35W arch deck truss Bridge in Mineapolis. State officials have confirmed that five people are dead and at least eight are still missing in the wreckage. Sonar equipment has identified several "targets" in the river, including vehicles and parts of the fallen bridge, state and local officials say, but divers have had a difficult time maneuvering around debris due to murky water and unpredictable currents. The response operation has now shifted fully from rescue to recovery. "We don't believe there are people who are alive," says Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Ryback.

On the day after the collapse, the Corps coordinated the flow of the three locks and dams around the site to "draw down" the level of the river to facilitate easier diving and recovery. It also has moved in a light crane and "handy flat" barge to aid in recovery of vehicles and bodies. Aaron Snyder, Army Corps of Engineers spokesman, says draw-down of river level caused turbulence that hampered recovery operations. The initial draw-down created suction that forced divers to slow down the recovery effort. "There was some turbulence in the debris field," Snyder says. "It's a tight spot and hard to get to." The "pool" around the wreckage typically is between 4 and 14 ft deep. It now is about 2 to 3 ft lower. Overall, flow through the area has been cut to 1,350 cu ft per second, about 15% of normal capacity.

http://enr.construction.com/news/transportation/archives/070803a.asp

 

[Buzz Mills]

They should be in the process of moving in barges and cranes, to begin the process of removing the remains of the bridge from the river. So far I haven't heard any reports of barge mounted cranes being on their way.

I did hear mention of a Navy ship possibly being on its way to the scene.

Helicopters with high resolution cameras are said to be scanning the bridge looking for the initial point of failure. They have now changed their focus from the South end of the bridge to the North end.

 

[panthera]

They should be in the process of moving in barges and cranes, to begin the process of removing the remains of the bridge from the river. So far I haven't heard any reports of barge mounted cranes being on their way.

I did hear mention of a Navy ship possibly being on its way to the scene.

Helicopters with high resolution cameras are said to be scanning the bridge looking for the initial point of failure. They have now changed their focus from the South end of the bridge to the North end.

Thanks for your updates Buzz I would think that recovery of the cars and finding out what is underneath the bridge would be easier if it was removed ~ but also realize they need to try to determine how it fell. I understood the NTSB to say that they were going to take the pieces to a reconstruction site like they did TWA800.

 

[Buzz Mills]

The forensic structures guys from the NTSB said it will be a very long drawn out process to determine the failure; they also said , it wil probably take 18 months, rather than the 12 months, previously mentioned.

 

[cheko1]

They should be in the process of moving in barges and cranes, to begin the process of removing the remains of the bridge from the river. So far I haven't heard any reports of barge mounted cranes being on their way.

I did hear mention of a Navy ship possibly being on its way to the scene.

Helicopters with high resolution cameras are said to be scanning the bridge looking for the initial point of failure. They have now changed their focus from the South end of the bridge to the North end.

I heard Buzz that they were going to move in cranes on barges.

A Navy ship???? How will they get it there? In a great many areas on the Mississsippi river the water isn't very deep, they have to dredge the river so barges can get up it. Wow that blows my mind.

If they do that I'm driving to get pictures it will be monumental & history will be made. With all the locks & dams on the river it will have to be pretty small.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

It seems the progress is slow, but ongoing. With the debris still in the river, it is going to be precarious at best. Getting the bulk of the debris not to shift and to stabalize is almost impossible given the conditions of the water they are working in. No one wants to put the recovery teams in harm's way in order to do their jobs. (They have already done this in the initial hours, but now it is time to reconsider.)

It probably has damaged the lock system to some extent, but it will be included in the rebuilding effort and addressed then. However, it might curtail the water traffic until then which is something they had hoped to avoid. For now...the most important thing is to recover the people. They can worry about the rest later.

 

[Buzz Mills]

It seems the progress is slow, but ongoing. With the debris still in the river, it is going to be precarious at best. Getting the bulk of the debris not to shift and to stabalize is almost impossible given the conditions of the water they are working in. No one wants to put the recovery teams in harm's way in order to do their jobs. (They have already done this in the initial hours, but now it is time to reconsider.)

It probably has damaged the lock system to some extent, but it will be included in the rebuilding effort and addressed then. However, it might curtail the water traffic until then which is something they had hoped to avoid. For now...the most important thing is to recover the people. They can worry about the rest later.

SS, the recovery teams are pretty much finished; nothing more can be done until the barge mounted cranes, which are on their way, remove much of the debris.

I was trying to hear how far the barge mounted cranes had to come, as they aren't plentiful, and they are slow movers, so it could take them awhile. They probably should have had them on their way since day 1, but then again, maybe they did do that.

 

[panthera]

The forensic structures guys from the NTSB said it will be a very long drawn out process to determine the failure; they also said , it wil probably take 18 months, rather than the 12 months, previously mentioned.

That doesn't surprise me at all. I'd imagine the video of the bridge as it was collapsing would be of some use to them though.

 

[Buzz Mills]

That doesn't surprise me at all. I'd imagine the video of the bridge as it was collapsing would be of some use to them though.

The way I saw the video, is that, what I considered to be the North end, fell first, but that depends if I have North right.