http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/01/bri...pse/index.html

Oh god.. this looks VERY bad. The ENTIRE span of a 4 lane each way freeway fell into the river. Some sections look like the fell ok enough that they kept the vehicle on all 4 tires, but some looks very bad.

Anyone here from Minneapolis, Minnesota?

That Hispanic labor is really paying off eh?

Saw footage this morning, how the hell can something like that happen? That's some really poor constructionwork if you ask me. How old was that bridge anyway?

No, Johnny, most likely it is poor UPKEEP which is a perennial problem across this country. I know we had a bridge do the same thing about 20 yrs ago in my area and 10 people died. It's tragic enough when accidents happen but even more so when you find out how easily some of them could have been prevented!

I haven't heard details on this one, but feel so bad for those people right now. :(

I heard on my commute this morning that they knew the bridge needed work also.

Absolutely a tragedy. Poor people. :(

A friend of mine's daughter lives in St Paul, and used to live about a block from the bridge. She's okay... texted him before he knew about it [img]smile.gif[/img]

One thing is certain... someone will be found for blame. Perhaps something else will be found to ensure that it doesn't happen again...

Saw this last night, terrible! :( Although it could have been worse apparently with a lot more cars on the bridge (only one lane was open at the time). I heard a lot of interviews with people saying they heard a jackhammer before the bridge collapsed.

This is terrible stuff. Unbelievable.

<font face="Verdana" size="3" color="#009999">This recently happened in Quebec but a smaller bridge with only the people traveling under were killed/crushed.

It is Tragic and Totally preventable, bridges are usually inspected every few years, inspector writes a reports on these structures and sends it to the government that has jurisdiction says that it needs repairs or needs to be upgraded and the report gets lost, filled, ignored etc. Until someting happens then the government agency responsible is like crap, and within the next few years all the bridges that are in a similar condition are replaced or upgraded. Pisses me off that it always takes a tragedy to get some action. Pretty sure it works this way for all North America. The bridge was over 40 years old, it was just an arch with no direct supports in the water to prevent interference with water traffic.</font>

[ 08-02-2007, 06:04 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]