WI - 35W bridge in Minneapolis collapses!

[panthera]

It's deceiving because the bridge runs a ways inland before it has an exit. There were a few sections that came down on the North shore.

How much of it actually fell? I heard one report it was 4 sections, but how much is a section? Just curious!

 

[Buzz Mills]

I looked at the satellite view and the RR tracks that I saw on the map can't be where the freight train was that got crushed under the bridge. They're just too far from the river, so there must be another track. I could get a better idea if I knew which direction the semi-truck & bus were headed ~ toward downtown or away from there?

No, it's just deceiving panthera; that was an inland section that came down on the freight train.

 

[Buzz Mills]

How much of it actually fell? I heard one report it was 4 sections, but how much is a section? Just curious!

Try to find one of the overhead photos; it should give us a better perspective as to where the tracks are, with respect to the section on the train cars.

 

[panthera]

No, it's just deceiving panthera; that was an inland section that came down on the freight train.

Oh I see. I agree about finding an aerial photo of the collapse to figure it out. Seeing it on tv, from eye level, it is deceiving because I can't see the "whole picture" at once.

 

[Buzz Mills]

They are sending a five man Navy Assessment Team.

 

[panthera]

They are sending a five man Navy Assessment Team.

I just turned on the CNN special and saw the video of the collapse again. Still looking for an aerial photo though!

 

[Buzz Mills]

Probe to see if construction played role

MINNEAPOLIS - Trucks, loaders and paving equipment rumbled onto the Interstate 35W bridge in mid-June as Progressive Contractors Inc. began a $2.4 million project to repair sections of the heavily traveled highway.As tens of thousands of cars zoomed by every day, Progressive's workers pounded away at the road surface with jackhammers, cut loose pavement with industrial-strength saws, and mixed and poured concrete.

The bridge collapsed Wednesday toward the end of a shift, taking Progressive's 18-person crew with it. One worker is feared dead. For now, the contruction project is only one item on a long list of possible causes that also includes aging steel, rotting welds, vibrations from adjacent train tracks and even the corrosive effects of bird droppings. But the company's work on the structure has become a crucial early part of the investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

On Sunday, the NTSB said it had interviewed company officials and workers and was analyzing construction and maintenance documents. Employees of Progressive, based in St. Michael, Minn., have helped investigators map out the locations of its equipment, vehicles and materials at the time of the accident, and how much each piece weighed. The company's work at the time was concentrated on a section of bridge over the river toward the southern end, said NTSB chairman Mark Rosenker.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070805/ap_on_re_us/bridge_collapse_contractor

 

[SeriouslySearching]

I saw it on Geraldo....so go consider the source...but last night they talked about a Deputy D someone...they did mention his name...which switched from the current Minnesota Dept of Trans. to the current company working on this very project. It seems all of the oversight on keeping up with the current status of the bridge went away when they began their work a few weeks ago. They want it investigated. So do I.

 

[panthera]

Thanks for the link, Buzz! I clicked on the video and saw an aerial shot that gave a better perspective on the collapse. It just lasts a couple of seconds maybe.

 

[panthera]

I saw it on Geraldo....so go consider the source...but last night they talked about a Deputy D someone...they did mention his name...which switched from the current Minnesota Dept of Trans. to the current company working on this very project. It seems all of the oversight on keeping up with the current status of the bridge went away when they began their work a few weeks ago. They want it investigated. So do I.

I saw Geraldo last night too. I don't remember the name either, but I hope Geraldo or someone does make sure this is investigated.

 

[Buzz Mills]

Blue Ribbon Panel On Bridge and Tunnel Security (2003)

the report notes, “the highway infrastructure has vulnerabilities, which must be addressed. This is important enough to be a matter of national security policy.” The panel stressed that loss of a critical bridge or tunnel at one of the numerous “choke points” in the highway system could result in hundreds or thousands of casualties, billions of dollars worth of direct reconstruction costs, and even greater socioeconomic costs.

The panel recommends collaboration by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), AASHTO, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and other transportation stakeholders to prioritize all bridges and tunnels with respect to their vulnerability to terrorist attack. This prioritization should be based on such characteristics as:

Potential for mass casualty based on average daily traffic and other statistics.
Criticality to emergency evacuation and response plans.
Importance to military or defense mobilization.
Availability of alternative routes with adequate capacity.
Symbolic value of structure and potential for extensive media exposure and public reaction.
Mixed use of structure, such as by both automobiles and rail.
Location at international border crossings.

http://www.tfhrc.gov/focus/sep03/02.htm

 

[panthera]

Geraldo is going through prior reports about problems with the bridge, specifically with hinge joints in span #2 dating back to 1994.

 

[Buzz Mills]

Geraldo is going through prior reports about problems with the bridge, specifically with hinge joints in span #2 dating back to 1994.

I never watch Geraldo; he has a bad habit of saying things that are greatly exaggerated, and even untrue.

 

[panthera]

I never watch Geraldo; he has a bad habit of saying things that are greatly exaggerated, and even untrue.

This time he was showing the report on tv and talking with an "expert". Oh well, who knows! It's hard to imagine that something that caused concern in 1994 and assuming it wasn't repaired would last until 2007 for the bridge to collapse. There is new video that was interesting though!

 

[RiverRat]

View from Google Earth

 

[RiverRat]

This one is better for viewing where the train-tracks are.

 

[Buzz Mills]

This one is better for viewing where the train-tracks are.

RR, I was looking for a recent satellite image showing the damage.

 

[Buzz Mills]

Technology Aids Probe of Bridge Collapse

MINNEAPOLIS (Aug. 5) - A helicopter with a camera like those used to film Hollywood movies will soon peer into the wreckage of a collapsed bridge. Laser-guided surveying equipment has already helped produce a detailed map of the debris. Software re-creating the disaster on a computer screen may even pinpoint the exact piece of bridge that gave way. Even with the water still filled with debris, investigators are already using this powerful technological arsenal to get answers about why the bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River last week. It is a quantum leap ahead of investigations of previous eras, when crews literally had to put the pieces of fallen bridge back together.

"Computers and modeling techniques are just light years from what was available 40 years ago," said Ted Galambos, a professor emeritus of structural engineering at the University of Minnesota and an expert in the stability of structural steel. "Now we can have an idea and we can test that on a computer in a few hours." Even the dive recovery teams are turning to technology for help, using underwater video cameras to look under dangerously unstable debris. Local teams have also requested help from FBI and Navy dive teams in the search for the eight people feared dead in addition to the five confirmed fatalities.

Searchers on Sunday concluded a fourth day in the water without finding any of the missing, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Department said. State transportation officials said they would begin removing bridge debris from the Mississippi River later this week. Besides helping with the recovery operation, one goal of clearing the wreckage is to open a channel at least 56 feet wide to accommodate barge and boat traffic. Officials offered no timetable for how long it would take.

Investigators caution that it could take as long as 18 months to complete their exhaustive probe into why Minnesota's busiest bridge collapsed and fell into the river Wednesday. But they already have begun zeroing in on clues.

http://news.aol.com/story/dc/_a/tec...e/20070801194509990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

 

[SeriouslySearching]

I think that is great. Now if they can use such technology to bring people home to their families...it would be even greater! Right now, they are showing what technology lacks and more of what people can do.

 

[RiverRat]

RR, I was looking for a recent satellite image showing the damage.

Sorry! But it did help me put things in perspective as far as how close the dam is and where the rr tracks where. Happy Searching!