Minnesota bridge collapse...stills from video HERE.

[Poll_Blind]

I capped these minutes ago from a video feed- these same fires appear to be getting worse (more smoke now).





The smoke from the fires in the above shot is quite a bit thicker now.

Sorry these two shots don't show the extensive nature of the collapse. What a terrible, terrible thing to happen. The whole damned bridge appears to have broken up somehow. Feel free to reply with your own pictures or image captures for those who don't have access to the video.

PB

[emilyg]

1. good God. Thanks.

[Nikki Stone1]

2. This looks like an earthquake hit it.

But what was it? Crumbling infrastructure? Crooked contractors?

[Poll_Blind]

4. No idea. Reminds me of that big quake in Cali which collapsed the...

...bridge down there. No idea what would cause what appears to be a total collapse.

PB

[Nikki Stone1]

15. Just heard on West Coast NBC Nightly News that witnesses felt a rumbling like a jackhammer

and then the thing collapsed. I wonder...

[Poll_Blind]

16. Also a witness in a nearby building described the collapse as...

...sounding "like a giant dump truck going over a speed bump". He saw the center section collapse straight down into the river and then a support pillar (on the North side) being bent before a section connection to it collapsing shortly thereafter.

PB

[focusfan]

28. Remember the bridges that fell during the Reagan years

Everything requires maintenance or it will die of neglect.

[Poll_Blind]

3. Huge plumes of smoke...and an eerie pair of headlights.

I'm afraid the headlights are coming from a car whose occupants are still trapped inside.



PB

[samplegirl]

5. A perfect example of our government

slacking on inspection of bridges. Yet were rebuilding Iraq.

[tech3149]

6. Just one more example of why we have to maintain infrastructure

Next time a conservative complains about taxes, I'll remind them this is what happens when you strangle the government revenues.

[Eric J in MN]

13. Construction workers trying to maintain infrastructure may have caused the collapse.

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1338294.html

===============================
She said one 911 caller said she could see the construction workers using a jackhammers when the bridge collapsed close to her car. "She saw it and she said she just gunned it and just made it out of there," Brown said.
=================================

[tech3149]

19. That might be, but if you're following the thread a jackhammer isn't likely

Another post said they were using pile drivers. That could definitely be a problem. The ram has tons of mass, operates in the right frequency range, and if used around suspended roadways, it's usually at 0:30 AM or later when no one is on the roads. I spent three months in NJ while they were doing an overpass two miles away. At least after a few days, the beat put me to sleep.

[Horseradish]

23. Piledrivers not in that area

.... being used for new overpass construction 3 or 4 miles away.

[tech3149]

24. Thanks Horse, since I'm not im the area, I didn't know

If you're in the area and know something of the repair project, I'd like to know what you can tell me about the engineers/contractors involved in the project. I spent some time doing searches, but haven't come up with anything so far. What I'm really looking for is the original contract for the repair project. A good part of my professional career required me to sort through the legal weasel words to figure out the intent and ultimate goal of the agreement. Most areas make contract agreements for service/repair work available to the public in some form. If they have a website, it's probably a pdf file or url that I could check. My only interest is to figure out if someone in the process didn't know what was needed, got sold a line of crap, or cut corners to make it look good.

Since I have no skin in the game, I can't lose. My interest is to be some independent arbiter to help figure out what went wrong and why. I'll admit I'm not as sharp on the science and physics as I used to be, but I don't think it would take long to get confirmation or support from others that have similar background that can help truly figure out what happened.

I'm no brain trust, but one of the biggest loves of my life is trying to figure out how things work and finding out why they don't. My background might be in electronics, but digging into faults and failures, whatever the field, require the same skills.

[Horseradish]

25. I've driven over the bridge during rehab of surface

but don't have any real details of the overall repair process, other than it was a surface repair, not a structural repair. That being said, I'm open to many different questions/answers relating to it -- which I'm sure we'll be seeing in the coming days/weeks.

A few things I do ponder are: 1) the age of the structure, 2) the current drought (limestone crumbles when it's not damp), 3) lowering of water-table due to said drought, and 4) a recent report (sorry, no link) stating that there were stress cracks in support beams on the approaches.

I guess we'll be finding out the cause sooner than later.

Thanks for your thoughtful response.

[tech3149]

27. All the issues you cover are potential problems

In the area I live we've got bridges and roads built in the 30's that may look like hell but they're still structurally sound. This part of the country hasn't had a depletion of the water table. That might be a major problem, but it could have been handled with qualified oversight. We can't pinch pennies while throwing away dollars and expect to pay for the next meal.

[PFunk]

17. My thoughts exactly...

Say what you want about the europeans but they (and many other countries) spend the money to keep up their infrastructure. We now don't. Here's the result of 30-plus years of republican policy. Expect more in the future.

[zabet]

7. Thanks so much!!

All I have is rabbit ears on the TV and a dial-up internet connection.
This is so awful.

[Poll_Blind]

8. No problem, I know a number of DUers don't have access to high speed...

..internet.

PB

[Liberal In Texas]

9. LIVE video from channel 11 here:

http://www.kare11.com/video/player_live.aspx

[Poll_Blind]

11. Thanks! n/t

PB

[Mojambo]

12. Thanks for that link.

I've been trying to find some live coverage.

[Poll_Blind]

10. A shot of the middle portion of the bridge...

PB

[JuniperLea]

14. We seem to have all the money in the world to kill people...

And none to help them. "We" sicken me.

[Poll_Blind]

21. Too true. That thought might be worth refining and starting a totally...

...new thread with. I'm sad where we're at, too. It's fucked.

PB

[JuniperLea]

26. You should go for it...

But give me credit for the uber cool line that started the thought process;) I'd do it myself, but I have a couple of clients in crisis mode this morning so my time here will be very limited... probably until Monday:(

[Catherine Vincent]

18. I take it no one has come up with a webcam or video as the bridge collapsed?

[Poll_Blind]

20. Not yet but presumably since two bridges cross the same spot...

...it's likely that a Department of Transportation camera might have been trained on it because they would normally be interested with traffic conditions. Same with other "webcams" or cameras that news services would have in the area.

I'd say it's pretty likely there is at least one video of it collapsing.

PB

[leftofthedial]

22. must have been 757s crashing into it

that's the only explanation

bombing Iran in 10, 9, 8 . . .