Oh great..it was oil drilling equipment that knocked out the bridge

[dixiegrrrrl]

A truck hauling an oversized load of drilling equipment hit an overhead bridge girder on the major route between Seattle and Canada, sending a section of the interstate into the river below as the driver watched the structure collapse in his rearview mirror.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57586034/bridge-collapse-in-washington-state-blamed-on-tractor-trailer/

70,000 cars a day on that bridge, damned good thing it went down at 7 pm, post rush hour.

[uppityperson]

1. To be real, rush hour in that rural bit is about the same as every other hour but indeed

Glad no one died and so few were hurt.

[gateley]

5. And apparently those who were hurt weren't seriously injured. Except for the trauma.

[woo me with science]

2. Well, that's symbolic.

[gateley]

3. Sorry, but that made me laugh. Wouldn't you know it?

I'd heard that it had an oversize permit, which made me figure all you have to do is shell out some money and you can get the go ahead to do almost anything.

I THINK I heard our Governor (Jay Inslee -- newly elected, really good guy) say there WEREN'T signs indicating the height limit, but I'd better go check to see if I'm right in that.

[siligut]

4. The route had been approved by the DOT

The trucking company said it received a state permit to carry its oversized load across the bridge. Scherbinski said the state Department of Transportation had approved of the company's plan to drive the equipment along I-5 to Vancouver, Wash.

He also said the company hired a local escort to help navigate the route. The driver was well-experienced with handling oversized loads, he said.

The tractor-trailer was hauling a housing for drilling equipment southbound when the top right front corner of the load struck several trusses on the north end of the bridge. . .

Looks like the load was just too high for the bridge.

[gateley]

6. Uh oh. Rev Al is giving a report on the WA State bridges --

We have a LOT of them here -- LOTS of water. *Gulp*