Bridge collapses in Minnesota

[Alysser]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/01/bridge.collapse.ap/index.html

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (AP) -- A freeway bridge spanning the Mississippi River collapsed during evening rush hour Wednesday, sending many cars into the water.


Mark Lacroix photographed the bridge collapse from his apartment window.

Tons of concrete collapsed and there were injuries, authorities said. Survivors were being carried up the riverbank.

Some people were stranded on parts of the bridge that weren't completely submerged.

The entire span of the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed about 6:05 p.m. where the freeway crosses the river near University Avenue in Minneapolis. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


:eek: What a scary experience!

[Pam]

Absolutely horrifying! I have been watching the coverage on Fox since it started. Prayers going up for everyone involved.

[wombat2u2004]

Yeah, I just heard about that.
Terrible stuff, they said they think theirs no link to terrorism.
We will have to wait to see what comes out of it all.
Wom

[krazyaboutkatz]

I just found out about it a little while ago and my local news is covering it exclusively. They said that at least 3 people have died. This is so sad.:( It also sounds like a big storm is headed their way.

[joycenalex]

may there be light work for the rescuers, amen

[Laura's Babies]

This is terriable news.... I was stunned when I saw that on TV!

[Marigold2]

This is horrible, those poor people. There for the grace of God go you or I.

[K9soul]

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Six people were killed when a highway bridge collapsed and hurled vehicles into the Mississippi River in central Minneapolis during evening rush hour on Wednesday, the city's mayor said.

"We have confirmed it will be a very tragic night when it is over," Minneapolis mayor R.T. Ryback told a news conference.

"Obviously this is a catastrophe of historic proportions," said Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.


http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSN0123484920070802

Prayers are with them. I am hoping no one I know was in the area at the time.

[BC_MoM]

This seems very much like a freak accident! I heard on the news that there were no problems with the bridge, and that the only construction that was being done currently was resurfacing. An engineer said that in all of history, they have never seen a bridge collapse from both ends like this before.

[Hellow]

I jsut saw this thread and flipped to CNN where they was discussing this. Its just soo........wierd.:eek: It collapsed out of nowhere with nothing wrong with the bridge.

[Ginger's Mom]

Very frightening. Prayers going out to all of the people effected by this tragedy.

[pitc9]

Prayers are with them. I am hoping no one I know was in the area at the time.

How far is the bridge from you?

[K9soul]

Minneapolis is about 70 miles from here but a great many people here commute to the cities to work every day. The people I know I believe get off work early enough that they should not have been there.

They say there are 20 people missing.. More than likely having gone into the river or trapped in wreckage :( 60 injured.

[Alysser]

Injured is better then dead, I hope they're all OK though. 3 people dying is really just terrible. What a horrible, horrible way to die. :( I'll be thinking of their families.

[Catty1]

Bridge collapse rescue shifts to recovery effort

Rescuers shift to recovery effort

CTV.ca News Staff

Thu. August. 2 2007 10:05 AM ET

Emergency workers in Minneapolis have shifted their focus from searching for survivors to trying to recover the bodies after a major bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River during rush-hour traffic on Wednesday.

The collapse happened shortly after 6 p.m. local time, sending a massive cloud of dust into the sky and terrifying onlookers during the height of rush hour.

"It's a search and recovery not a rescue effort, they have changed that connotation," CNN correspondent Rusty Dornin told CTV Newsnet on Thursday.

"They don't believe there are any more survivors in the water. They did have to abandon, however, even the recovery efforts overnight. It was too dark, too dangerous, huge chunks of concrete and twisted metal."

There has been some confusion over the number of people killed in the collapse. Authorities said seven were killed, then raised the number to nine, then reduced it to four on Thursday morning.

However, at least 20 people are still missing and the death toll is expected to continue to rise as the recovery operation continues.

More than 60 people were injured and as many as 50 vehicles were in the river, and police said they believed more vehicles were submerged under water and had not yet been located.

Police Lt. Amelia Huffman said that initial reports of seven people killed were based on the best estimates authorities had last night.

Families of the missing have gathered at the site to await news of their loved ones.

"I've never wanted to see my brother so much in my life," Kristi Foster, who went to an information centre looking for her brother Kirk, told The Associated Press. She had not heard from her brother or his girlfriend, Krystle Webb, since the previous night.

With little light available and twisted metal covering the riverbed, divers were forced to stop examining some of the wreckage until morning, and it's expected to take some time before all the bodies are recovered.

"They're saying this is going to be slow going," Dornin said. "Not only do you have the currents to deal with, but all the very dangerous debris in the river, concrete and chunks of steel, and they're saying it could be several days before they actually get the bodies out of the river."

The collapse happened while the bridge was under the full weight of rush-hour traffic.

"There were two lanes of traffic, bumper to bumper, at the point of the collapse. Those cars did go into the river,'' said Minneapolis Police Lt. Amelia Huffman.

Four lanes were open on the eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge at the time, while two pairs of outer lanes had been closed to repairs.

Many people were likely trying to get to the Minneapolis Twins baseball game at the nearby Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

Vehicles fell into the water, along with tonnes of concrete and steel. A school bus carrying about 60 children was on part of the collapsed bridge, but the students and driver were said to have escaped without serious injuries.

Leone Carstens, who lives several blocks from the bridge, was at home when the collapse occurred.

"There was this roar, I guess you would call it. I walked out to the other room and looked out the window and it was gone. It had already happened," she told CTV's Canada AM on Thursday.

Melissa Hughes, 32, narrowly survived when her car dropped several feet along with the western edge of the bridge.

"You know that free-fall feeling? I felt that twice," she told The Associated Press.

A truck landed on top of her car, heavily damaging part of the roof. But somehow Hughes escaped without any injuries.

"I had no idea there was a vehicle on my car," she said. "It's really very surreal."

In Washington, the U.S. Homeland Security Department said it had no indications the collapse was linked to any terrorist act, but was more likely the result of a structural failure.

The 160-metre-long, 40-year-old bridge links Minneapolis and adjacent St. Paul, spanning the Mississippi River.

Workers had been conducting work recently to repair the bridge's surface. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., told CNN that the bridge had been structurally inspected three years ago and received a clean bill of health.

When still intact, the bridge rose about 20 metres above the river's surface. Between 100,000 and 200,000 vehicles per day are estimated to use the bridge.

With files from The Associated Press

[Miss Z]

Oh my gosh, I can't begin to imagine what a frightening experience that must have been. :eek: My thoughts are with those families who've lost loved ones, and those that are injured.

[Pam]

Gov. Jon Corzine of NJ has just said that all NJ bridges will be inspected with 45 days. Any bridge not passing inspection will be shut down. This is very encouraging news to me particularly as I use these bridges all the time. I hope that all of the other governors follow suit.

[lvpets2002]

:( That was just so devastating & horrible.. I just cant even imagine how those people felt.. My Prayers to All..

[momoffuzzyfaces]

Absolutely horrifying! I have been watching the coverage on Fox since it started. Prayers going up for everyone involved.
Same for me Pam!!! It's just awful!!! Lots and lots of prayers are on the way!!!

I'm so glad all the children on that bus got off safely!! :(

[ramanth]

What a terrifying experience. :( Many prayers out to those involved.

I wonder if the Mackinac bridge is now being checked.

[Anita Cholaine]

Gosh, what a frightening experience for all the people involved :(. It was so shoking to watch it on tv, I couldn't really believe what I was seeing. Prayers for the injured and those who lost loved ones.

[Alysser]

RELATIVES HOPE, PRAY AS RIVER SEARCH CONTINUES

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) -- Clutching photographs and license plate numbers, dozens of distraught people Thursday waited for word of their loved ones missing after Wednesday's deadly bridge collapse.

The Red Cross has set up a family assistance center in the ballroom at the nearby Holiday Inn-Metrodome, where it's offering counseling as authorities try to recover bodies lodged in the wreckage.

As many as 50 vehicles are trapped in the rubble or in the river after the eight-lane interstate bridge collapsed during Minneapolis' evening rush hour. Twenty to 30 people were missing, Minneapolis police Chief Tim Dolan said.

Four people were confirmed dead, and officials said at least 79 people were injured when the Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River buckled.

President Bush on Thursday pledged federal aid to rebuild the bridge, and the White House announced he will visit the disaster site Saturday. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said $5 million was being made available immediately to pay for traffic flow adjustments and debris removal.

Jessica Engebretsen, waiting near the bridge for news of her mother, asked people to pray for the missing.

Her sister, Anne, struggled to hold back the tears as she described her mom, Sherry Engebretsen, as "a fighter."

"She'll make it, she's a strong woman, she's gonna come back home," Anne told CNN. Watch family try to stay positive while awaiting word on woman's fate »

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Other relatives of the missing gathered at a hotel to await word from officials.

"I've never wanted to see my brother so much in my life," Kristi Foster told The Associated Press. She hadn't heard from her brother Kirk or his girlfriend since the collapse.

"We know of several people who were pinned or trapped" that have died, Dolan said.

"People that were pinned, people that were partly crushed ... told emergency workers to say ... goodbye," Dolan said. "It was an amazing, amazing scene."

The water below the collapsed bridge is about 7 to 8 feet deep -- just covering the roofs of the dozens of cars that are in the water, Dolan said.

Dolan said he believes there may be 20 vehicles in the water that the workers cannot even see.

The bridge fell 60 feet, about six stories, into the river. See a diagram of the bridge »

Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek said conditions in the Mississippi River were treacherous for divers, as the twisted steel and blocks of pavement were pushed around by river currents. He said the search could go on for five days or longer.

Investigators will try to reassemble the bridge to determine what caused the collapse, said Mark Rosenker, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

Security camera video showed the Interstate 35W bridge's center section collapsing into the river in less than four seconds. The northern end of the span appeared to drop first, and the southern end followed. Witnesses describe the chaotic scene »


CNN obtained the video from a source who asked to remain unidentified because they were not authorized to distribute it publicly.

Rosenker said video of the collapse is the equivalent of getting a plane's flight data recorder after a crash and would allow investigators to move much faster to find out what caused the disaster.

Gary Babineau was driving his truck across the bridge as it fell.

"I could see the whole bridge as it was going down and as I was falling, and it just gave a rumble real quick, and it all just gave way, and it just fell completely all the way to the ground," Babineau said. See photos of the disaster »

"This particular section of freeway was under repair," Minneapolis fire Chief Jim Clack said. "We don't know yet what caused the collapse."

A school bus filled with more than 50 children who were returning from a summer field trip was among the vehicles on the bridge when it collapsed.

Tony Wagner, the president of a local nonprofit social services group that organized the trip, said eight of the kids, ages 5 to 14, were hospitalized.

Mark Lacroix, who lives on the 20th floor of an apartment building near the bridge, told CNN he saw the last seconds of the collapse.

"I heard this massive rumbling and shaking ... and looked out my window," Lacroix said. "It just fell right into the river."

According to the Minneapolis Riverfront District Web site, the steel arch bridge was opened in 1967. Its longest span stretches 458 feet over the river, and it was constructed with no mid-river piers to facilitate river traffic.

The bridge was undergoing nonstructural re-decking work, U.S. Transportation Department spokesman Brian Turmail said.

A 2001 study conducted by the Minnesota Department of Transportation found "several fatigue problems" in the bridge's approach spans and "poor fatigue details" on the main truss.

The study suggested that the design of bridge's main truss could cause a collapse if one of two support planes were to become cracked, although it allowed that a collapse might not occur in that event. But, the study concluded, "fatigue cracking of the deck truss is not likely" and "replacement of the bridge ... may be deferred."

Two years ago, the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Bridge Inventory database said the bridge was "structurally deficient."


The bridge received a rating of 4 on a scale of 0 to 9. A bridge receives a rating of 4 when there is "advanced section loss, deterioration."

About 140,000 cars a day travel over the bridge, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

All About U.S. Department of Transportation • Mississippi River

[RICHARD]

Prayers out to the whole area and everyone involved.
Here in Lost Angeles we know about falling freeways/hiways. In 1994
there were quite a few bridges down.

-----------------

Now for my rant.......


Dear media,

ENOUGH OF THE "INTERNET REPORTERS", PLEASE!

Every media outlet asks the public to "email or send your pictures or videos into the station".

Then the interview goes like this...

" I was on my way to the Kwik E Mart for the two chili dogs for 99 cents special because my mom has the flu and she can't walk because of the plantar's wart on her foot. I made a turn on second street and the big labrador that chases me all the time didn't so I knew that something was going to go wrong today.

At the street light I was texting my best friend for the news about the Spice Girls reunion.....then the bridge fell and I took pictures.

--------------

I cannot stand the crappy, jerky look of camera phone video.

IT reminds me of those 1920 movies..ack!

[davidpizzica]

The bridge collaspe tragedy in Minneapolis have a lot of people in Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh government worried about our bridges. Pittsburgh has the nickname of "The city of bridges" due to the fact that there are three major rivers in the Pittsburgh area. A lot of them are older than the bridge that collasped. There are crews out looking at and inspecting bridges. It could happen here, too.

[IRescue452]

You know what really really bothers me... the news had to mention terrorism about 50 times the first night when the bridge collapsed. I didn't even think of terrorism at all. Honestly, this is how that damn war gets funded, they scare people into thinking we might be under attack. If I hear the word terrorism in the story about the bridge one more time I'm going to become the freaking terrorist. You want to steal my paycheck money for taxes for your war on "terrorism"? I'll get my money's worth.

[Pam]

You know what really really bothers me... the news had to mention terrorism about 50 times the first night when the bridge collapsed. I didn't even think of terrorism at all. Honestly, this is how that damn war gets funded, they scare people into thinking we might be under attack. If I hear the word terrorism in the story about the bridge one more time I'm going to become the freaking terrorist. You want to steal my paycheck money for taxes for your war on "terrorism"? I'll get my money's worth.

Actually, terrorism is the first thing that came to my mind. They said early on that bridges and tunnels were prime targets.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

You want to steal my paycheck money for taxes for your war on "terrorism"?
If not for fundamental infrastructure, like bridges, where the heck is tax money going? Last night there was story on the local news about how many bridges in the Denver area should be replaced rather than patched up, but the "money isn't there." Huh? What the heck am I paying for it not for basic services?

I wish there was a box you could check when doing your taxes- "I would not like to fund the war with my tax dollars," or "I would like to fund the war with my tax dollars." I bet the conflict would end very shortly.

I just wish people would start to put the value of human lives above money! Sadly, this tragedy and Katrina show that just isn't the case.

[RICHARD]

You want to steal my paycheck money for taxes for your war on "terrorism"?


Hey, I'm gonna file a police report! :eek:

Dang Feds...

[cassiesmom]

The bridge collaspe tragedy in Minneapolis have a lot of people in Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh government worried about our bridges. Pittsburgh has the nickname of "The city of bridges" due to the fact that there are three major rivers in the Pittsburgh area. A lot of them are older than the bridge that collasped. There are crews out looking at and inspecting bridges. It could happen here, too.

Mayor Daley ordered inspections of bridges and viaducts in Chicago, and I believe Gov. Blagojevich has ordered inspections to be done on all bridges in Illinois. Daley has gone on the radio to say that chicago's bridges are very safe, routinely inspected and maintained. The thing about Chicago is that there's no one bridge that functions as a main artery in the same way the 35W bridge does up in Minneapolis. We've had a few scary mishaps with trucks and buses running into viaducts on main streets, though.

[IRescue452]

Mayor Daley ordered inspections of bridges and viaducts in Chicago, and I believe Gov. Blagojevich has ordered inspections to be done on all bridges in Illinois. Daley has gone on the radio to say that chicago's bridges are very safe, routinely inspected and maintained.

I think they are doing a very good job at a quick cover up so people forget about what could happen. Keep in mind, this bridge that collapsed was regularily inspected and maintained as well.

[Catty1]

I heard a very interesting comment from an engineer here in Calgary(or Canada somewhere) - he said that when a car dealership sells a car, you get a maintenance manual to go with it, with a schedule in it.

However, millions of dollars go into bridges - and there is NO manual or maintenance standards provided by the designers and manufacturers! He said it was like, "Build it and forget about it."

He thought that attitude just WRONG - and I agree.

[Catlady711]

I feel for anyone that was injured in that collapse, and pray for the families affected by it.

Apparently this particular bridge had been noted twice during inspections of being 'structurally deficient" in some manner, at least so CNN says whatever that's worth.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/02/bridge.structure/index.html?eref=rss_topstories


As far as terrorism goes... I'm not going to live my life in fear everytime something happens whether by nature or by human means. When God calls my number then it's time for me to go, nothing I can do about it so why worry about what I can't control? Fear just kills the joy of life and life is too short to worry about all the potential 'what if's' we can't control. For all I know an airplane will have an engine failure and fall out of the sky on my house after I post this. Does that mean I should fear every airplane that flies overhead? No, I just go on with life and leave my future in God's hands.

I think the media is quick to point a finger at anything that will gain hype and viewers. Believe only half of what you hear and be suspect of the rest.

[lizbud]

I heard a very interesting comment from an engineer here in Calgary(or Canada somewhere) - he said that when a car dealership sells a car, you get a maintenance manual to go with it, with a schedule in it.

However, millions of dollars go into bridges - and there is NO manual or maintenance standards provided by the designers and manufacturers! He said it was like, "Build it and forget about it."

He thought that attitude just WRONG - and I agree.


If that guy is an engineer, he should know that city & state engineers
always have a blueprint of the structure & have available to them, other
info on building materials & maintinence schudules based on lifspan of the
bridge.The city & state personel should be able to maintain it safely.

It's only when the politics get involved & money to fund proper inspections
and rebuilding ,is spent elsewhere.

[crow_noir]

I thought this was really horrible when i first read about it. I feel sorry for all those people.

I was terrified of that happening when i was younger. Just this spring i remembered that when i was little i was TERRIFIED (phobia) of crossing bridges for that exact reason. My hometown has four bridges. (and there's an overpass that i crossed under on my bike when i was a little older... :eek: that thing looked like it would crumble at any moment. A few years later it was shut down and was closed for many years while they did repairs.

----

Not to make light of this, but that bridge collapsing happened just one day after i started again in on book six of Harry Potter. I wonder if anyone else was thinking of the similarity? :confused: :p

[Freckles]

This (http://www.ntsb.gov/) is the National Transportation Safety Board website.
Toward the bottom of the middle section, click on NTSB Most Wanted Safety Improvements. NONE of the improvements concern bridges. :(