At least nine people were killed after a highway bridge over the Mississippi river buckled and collapsed, plunging cars and trucks into the rushing waters below, officials said.
Dozens of vehicles fell into the river or were crushed as parts of the eight-lane bridge, which rises 64 feet (20 meters) over the water, were sheared off during Wednesday evening rush hour in Minneapolis.

"The bridge started falling, cars were flying everywhere and I saw the water coming up," said Catherine Yankelevich, who was driving across the bridge when it fell.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070802091537.wbk955ul&show_article=1&image=large


Wow this is just awful.

Yes, pictures and reports were broadcast on breakfast tv here in Britain this morning. I feel so sorry for those involved in such a sudden and horrifying disaster and hope that no one who posts on the forums is affected.
Louise

Wow thats horrible, my feelings go out to the family and friends involved

        I found it shocking.  For some reason, I thought all bridges were forever.  I always thought there'd be plenty of signs before such a thing happened.

        God bless those who didn't make it, and those who do make it too.


Love,

Rebis

Quote from: louise000 on August 02, 2007, 08:08:47 AM
I feel so sorry for those involved in such a sudden and horrifying disaster and hope that no one who posts on the forums is affected.
Louise

One of our members does live in the area but she is ok.  I'll let her post anything beyond that.

Beverly

From what I've read, it's likely to have been structural engineering gone bad......be prepared to seeing all bridges being double checked for cracks and such over the next few weeks.

It is sad that this happened.

Quote from: Aeyra on August 03, 2007, 12:15:16 PM
From what I've read, it's likely to have been structural engineering gone bad......be prepared to seeing all bridges being double checked for cracks and such over the next few weeks.

Yes, it was.  Stress cracking.  Deb said the last several times she went over it, she could feel the bridge shaking.  Why nobody took that as a warning sign is beyond me.

I live there and I am just grateful no one I know was on it. At least I hope I don't. Still a bunch of people missing too. Just terrible and it could have been avoided but thanks to politics it wasn't fixed. Thing here is that there a quite a few bridges that scored lower than the one that collapsed.

QuoteI always thought there'd be plenty of signs before such a thing happened.

Technically, there were.  Whether or not the people supposedly responsible for the bridge's maintanenance heed the warnings....is another matter entirely.