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#81
08-01-2007, 11:53 PM
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Re: Bridge collapses in Minnesota
I've only spoke with the uncle who was off-site. Communication has been horrible at the site itself, but from what I gather, most of the actual work was being done just south of the bridge today. I know my cousin that does the removal (i.e., runs a jackhammer) was working literally on the bridge on Sunday, but it sounds like they had completed that section and moved off of the bridge.
In the video clips being looped on Fox News, you can see a white pickup with "PCI" on the side (name of the company doing the work) hauling an injured person in the bed--I'm virtually certain that is my uncle's foreman's truck, which makes it likely he was near the area but not actually on the bridge itself. 
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#82
08-01-2007, 11:53 PM
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Re: Bridge collapses in Minnesota
Just got home from Canterbury, and on Minnesota Public Radio they said they believed there were 8 cars and I think 1 truck in the river. This is much better than the initial thought that there were as many as 50 cars in there.
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#83
08-01-2007, 11:54 PM
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Re: Bridge collapses in Minnesota
[ QUOTE ]
Great post Joe, Foxnews reported that there was a school bus with 60 students on the bridge, but they were able to all escape safely. This could have been horrific. [/ QUOTE ] Seriously. I am shocked that so many people who were in cars on the bridge as it collapsed are relatively fine. Looking at the pics, I would have guessed at least 50% would have been dead. So far it looks to be much lower.
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#84
08-01-2007, 11:57 PM
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Re: Bridge collapses in Minnesota
[ QUOTE ]
FWIW They are reporting that the bridge was inspected in '05 and '06 and had no problems. Doesn't mean much at this point, I realize. [/ QUOTE ] It is likely inspected every year, if not twice a year due to its age. I know for sure that in Mass it would be on a 6 month inspection rotation due to its size, design, and age. More than careers are at stake here if an engineer or inspector makes a mistake. Lawsuits that could have impacts on families may result. The state is likely being very careful with its wording.
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#85
08-02-2007, 12:01 AM
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Re: Bridge collapses in Minnesota
[ QUOTE ]
Just got home from Canterbury, and on Minnesota Public Radio they said they believed there were 8 cars and I think 1 truck in the river. This is much better than the initial thought that there were as many as 50 cars in there. [/ QUOTE ] Glad to see that you're ok Bob. Per rt "everybody is ok" so that's good news. (unless of course, rt doesn't care about you).
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#87
08-02-2007, 12:03 AM
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Re: Bridge collapses in Minnesota
Are you saying that the construction on the bridge is merely coincidental? Do bridges just collapse -- due to scour or otherwise -- without some kind of trigger? In the Schoharie County bridge collapse referenced in the article, it discussed a flood, for example. I understand that the surfacing work itself actually did not add meaningful additional weight to the bridge -- but it seems like an awful coincidence that there was a contractor working on the bridge around the time that this happened (and I don't mean that anything the contractor did that might have caused this happened today -- it could have happened weeks ago).
I am interested in your opinion on this. And I'd like more stories about banging strippers. Not necessarily in this order.
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#88
08-02-2007, 12:07 AM
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Re: Bridge collapses in Minnesota
joe, can u define abutment failure for us?
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#90
08-02-2007, 12:11 AM
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Re: Bridge collapses in Minnesota
I drove over that bridge fairly regularly, including a daily commute for a couple years. It's how I got to Town Hall Brewery, among other places. If Most-Favored Drinking Partner weren't out of town just now, there's a reasonable chance that I would have been driving over it around the time of the collapse. Holy crap.
With the construction, southbound was down to one lane when I went over it during morning rush hour last week. I don't think that vibration of a jackhammer really compares with the vibration of having a gazillion semis driven over it every day. Bridges are designed to withstand vibration, a huge load, weather, etc., and they are expected to last a lot longer than 40 years. Something like this just shouldn't happen. Guess this settles the question of which route I'm taking to Hutchinson tomorrow. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]
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