Spaceman Spiff Posted August 2, 2007 Author Share Posted August 2, 2007 Hey all. This is where I live. I travel that bridge twice a week. Very scary situation. My wife used to drive that daily, but found an alternate route a while back. Hits very close to home though with all the calls I've had on this. Hey man, I know we're all thankful that you weren't on that bridge. Glad you are safe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f_trizzy Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I just watched the Mothman Prophocies the other day too. Sad. First thing that came to my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Hey all. This is where I live. I travel that bridge twice a week. Very scary situation. My wife used to drive that daily, but found an alternate route a while back. Hits very close to home though with all the calls I've had on this. I was about to PM you to see if anyone in your family was near this bridge. Glad to hear it sounds like your family is safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 First thing that came to my mind. What the heck is the "Mothman Prophecies"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IONTOP Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I feel sorrow for all families involved... I just watched the Mothman Prophocies the other day too. Sad. First thing that came to my mind. I used to live in the town where that bridge was... Kittanning, PA... It was big time when they filmed it there.... What the heck is the "Mothman Prophecies"? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265349/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[S.S.F. | Nero] Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Hey all. This is where I live. I travel that bridge twice a week. Very scary situation. My wife used to drive that daily, but found an alternate route a while back. Hits very close to home though with all the calls I've had on this. Glad to hear you're ok! This is so sad. My condolences go out to all of the families affected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanCollins Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 No mention yet on what might have caused the failure of the bridge stucture. With a structural steel assembly, like the one supporting the bridge, a frame connection involving one member can cause a chain reaction and a total failure. The bridge beside this collapsed one, made of concrete and steel (similar to the key bridge) is probably twice it's age. A Lot more costly to build but one hell of lot stronger. If the world trade centers where made of reinforced concrete, they'd still be there. I worked on the Roslynn Center building (directly above the Roslynn metro) and that building was designed to take a direct hit from a commercial airliner and be repairable. All the exterior column contained a dozen #18 (2-1/4" diameter) rebar that had 14' overlap and were cadnium welded There was no sesmic activity reported today in MN and that leads me to suspect corrosion of the structual steel fastners (rivets or bolts) and may have been caused by the road salt from snow removal. Modern steel structures have cathodic protection (to inhibit rust) in the form of sacrificial disimilar metal sinks, epoxy paint, or low voltage current running thru the steel usually supplied by a few small solar panels, such as the ones you may have seen on the va. GW parkway bridges near the cia. I wouldn't rule out inferior engineering either, there's a pile of twisted junk underneath all that concrete roadway. There are 10's of thousands of old bridge structures in our country that are not being properly maintaned because of cuts in the DOT budget (not going political here ) and unfortunately these types of failures are going to happen more frequently in the near future as the funtional age of these older stuctures (and not so old underdesgned ones) reach thier limits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Some amazing photos from someone who lives right by the bridge. http://flickr.com/photos/s4xton/sets/72157601157770382/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinnedAussie Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Getting live reports down here, and it doesn't look good. Various possibilities for the collapse doing the rounds, but nobody can be certain at this early juncture. Condolences to all involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 On their main page CNN has a security camera video of the bridge collapsing. http://www.cnn.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Washington Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 that sucks...i heard maryland is having a press conference to confirm that all our bridges are safe.....and to invest in life insurance and life jackets. some civil engineering guy on the radio this morning said america has at least one bridge that collapses every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins24 Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Horrible stuff.... Thoughts and prayers to all affected.... some civil engineering guy on the radio this morning said america has at least one bridge that collapses every day. Sure. Small bridges. Not surprising since about 75,000 are structurally deficient Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsOrlando Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 One of those times when your terribly reminded how fragile life is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Washington Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Horrible stuff.... Thoughts and prayers to all affected.... Sure. Small bridges. Not surprising since about 75,000 are structurally deficient wow that's scary...DC has 65% of its bridges functionally or structurally obsolete? :yikes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenaa Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Wow. That video is crazy. You just never know when something like this will happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I heard all the Jews were told not to use the bridge yesterday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 There are 10's of thousands of old bridge structures in our country that are not being properly maintaned because of cuts in the DOT budget (not going political here ) and unfortunately these types of failures are going to happen more frequently in the near future as the funtional age of these older stuctures (and not so old underdesgned ones) reach thier limits. You are exactly right. When I worked in FFX County Gov we were not allowed to do any improvements because of the mixing bowl and new Teddy bridge going up when there is much that needs to be repaired. The problem with this bridge is it had the one arch so no other support, the newer ones are built that if one part were to collapse the others would be fine. What the US needs to do is see how many of these older bridges are still in use and have more then 150K cars go over it everyday and replace those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.C.O.L.B. Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I heard all the Jews were told not to use the bridge yesterday Nice. The best time for these shots is while the tragedy is still fresh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACW Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 Make sure you're sitting down when reading this. Just to show the ridiculously abhorrent hate of some people: http://www.godhatesfags.com/fliers/aug2007/20070802_minneapolis-bridge-collapse.pdf :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f_trizzy Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 What the heck is the "Mothman Prophecies"? A good movie, freaked me out a little the first time I saw it. You probably wouldn't get the reference without seeing or knowing about the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark The Homer Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 My buddy, who is a Redskins fan and went with me to the Seattle game in Jan 2006, lives in Minneapolis and by coincidence was nearby when the bridge collapsed. He helped man the Red Cross station which took care of the kids from that school bus. Just another example of a Redskins fan doing good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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