A tragedy. When something like this happens, I wonder about construction shortcuts. Infrastructure funding shortfalls. deferred maintenance. political coruption. All of these type of things will be revealed in the coming months.
My friends and I were on our way to the twins game when it happened (from southwest suburbs) but every couple of minutes an ambulance sped by, then helicopters started passing overhead, we walked over to the scene and it was pretty overwhelming, the way the dust seemed to hover over the wreckage and amongst all the choas surrounding was really strange. The bridge looked like it had blown up the way the metal had twisted and the concrete had broken, pretty scary stuff. There was a section that had broken that looked to be at a 45 degree angle and cars somehow stopped on it despite the steep slope of decline, restored some faith in automakers.
The baseball game went ten innings and was one of the better I've seen yet there was an energy missing, for good reason
Yikes! Can't believe something like that would just happen out of nowhere...usually structural failures of that magnitude have some kind of warning, right?
Earlier yesterday I had considered crossing that bridge to go and see an account that is with-in blocks of and in view of that bridge... (I actually caught footage of the company I was going to call on while watching the news footage on one of our local news stations). I would have had to also cross that bridge (to get home) after making that call. The trip home would have taken place very late yesterday afternoon... (pretty sobering thought!)
Originally Posted by mercbuggy /img/forum/go_quote.gif It seems that it was flagged up in a previous safety report in 2005. It would be terrible if negligence or 'keep the bridge open because it would cost to much to close it for repair' turn out to be the cause.
My thoughts are with MN today.
Just heard on the local news that a recent inspection report rated the bridge at a '50' (on a scale that allows for a top score of 120 pts.). They went on to state that this score did not mean that the bridge was in eminent danger of a catastrophic failure...
my condolences to the families that were involved in this tragic event. seems like more could have been done to make this bridge safer if it was only a 50 on a 120 scale.
From everything I've read and listening to from our local news coverage while in the office it sounds like the bridge had some issues but nothing to warrant any immediate major repairs. They stated it was scheduled to be replaced sometime around 2020.
I keep hearing about "structural deficiencies" however they are also saying that something like 40% of all bridges nation-wide have structural deficiencies and that there are many degrees as to the severity of those.
I'm beyond curious to find out what an investigation reveals as to a cause. This just blows my mind. Bridges don't just fall down...
cnn had a story this morning where the bridge had been rated a "4" on a scale of 1-10 by the ntsb (or something like that) -- i can't find it now 'cause there as so many stories.
anyway, how can a bridge rated a "4" have its maintenance deferred?
I was taking that bridge to my work in Bloomington for the past 4 years but decided to change my route that very day because the resurfacing project was causing too much of a delay. I feel very fortunate; as far as I know none of my friends or family were affected. My thoughts go out to those who were or know those who were.
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