Bridge Collapses in Minneapolis -terrible footage

[BERIGAN]

http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_213191448.html

[Joe G]

Goddam! I just called my sister's cell phone (she lives in Rochester) to try to get our relatives in Minneapolis accounted for. Couldn't get through.

[7/4]

I'm watching this unfold on TV...

[7/4]

Goddam! I just called my sister's cell phone (she lives in Rochester) to try to get our relatives in Minneapolis accounted for. Couldn't get through.

I hope they're safe.

[BERIGAN]

One of the local anchors was talking about witnesses hearing explosions, and what could have caused them....I'd imagine those massive pillars collapsing would sound just like explosions.

[BERIGAN]

What a weak looking bridge!!!! Which one would seem stronger? The The solid old arch filled bridge, or this one???/

[Joe G]

Goddam! I just called my sister's cell phone (she lives in Rochester) to try to get our relatives in Minneapolis accounted for. Couldn't get through.

I hope they're safe.

Just spoke to my Mom, and was reminded that my sister was still with her in northern Michigan. So at least she's safe, but no one has been able to get ahold of my uncle's family as of yet.

[WD45]

All of the local affiliates have their crews out there.

I got on the bus tonight to go home from work about 10 minutes before it happened. I am close enough that I would have heard it.

Officials are saying that it does not look like a terrorist attack, but a bridge weakness. In May 2006 the bridge was determined to have fatigue fractures. It was under repair when this happened.

My family tried to get through via phone and couldn't the first few times. Even the regular phones are dicey and overloaded.

Rescue teams from other communities with divers and air boats [this is the land of 10000 lakes] are coming in to help with the rescue.

There is a Twins baseball game happening right now; if you are familiar with the geography of Mpls, you know that the venue is not far from the scene. They have decided not to end the game -- if they did the scene would be overwhelmed by people trying to get a gander or simply get home.

What a mess.

[alocispepraluger102]

now a thunderstorm in the area.

[vibes]

Good to hear that no one on the board has been affected. I hope it stays that way.

My father and I drove over that bridge twice on Monday--kind of scary. I'm currently a student at the University of Minnesota, and attend classes very close to where the bridge is. The red spot in the attached photo is where I go to school.

Pretty crazy when these things happen so close to you.

[Rooster_Ties]

There is a Twins baseball game happening right now; if you are familiar with the geography of Mpls, you know that the venue is not far from the scene. They have decided not to end the game -- if they did the scene would be overwhelmed by people trying to get a gander or simply get home.

Sports reporter 'live blogging' from the game...

Baseball one mile from the tragedy

Wednesday, August 1st, 2007

I am in the Metrodome with La Velle and our intern Melissa Rosenberg, and this is a surreal feeling, watching a sporting event at a time when the rest of the country is watching news footage of a tragedy about one mile from this stadium.

I am writing this post for selfish reasons. My cell phone isn’t working very well, and I want our friends and family members to know that we’re safe. That feels very selfish knowing there were probably people on that bridge en route to this game, and somewhere there are family members wondering about their well-being.

I spoke with Twins president Dave St. Peter, and he said the decision to play tonight’s 7:10 game as scheduled was made after speaking with department of transportation officials. The theory was that sending 20,000-25,000 people back into traffic would only make it more congested for the emergency crews.

It sounds like tomorrow’s game will be postponed. The team is working on a statement, and an announcement is coming soon. At 7:08, the team made an announcement over the PA alerting the fans of the collapsed bridge, asking for their prayers and reminding people if they needed to leave to do so calmly. Also, people were asked to only use cell phones if necessary.

La Velle and I keep commenting on how hard it is to focus on the game. “What just happened? How did Alex Gordon just reach base?” It all feels so trivial right now.

Update: Thursday’s game has been postponed and will be rescheduled at a later time. Tomorrow’s groundbreaking also has been postponed indefinitely.

“In terms of the weekend, we have not made any decisions about the Indians series,” St. Peter said. ”We’ll deal with those one day at a time. Right now we’re focused on tonight and tomorrow and hopefully a lot of prayers and thoughts go out to those families who are impacted by this.”

Edited August 2, 2007 by Rooster_Ties

[Rooster_Ties]

Oddly enough, this FARK.COM thread is a good place to occasionally find links to interesting info about this ongoing event.

Start at the bottom of the thread (the latest postings), and work your way up. Yes, 97% of what's there isn't the least bit important (just people like us talking about the events at hand) -- but there are occasional links to relevant information. (That's where I found a link to the sports reporter live-blogging from the game.)

Warning: There's TONS on snark on Fark, even on a serious topic like this.

Edited August 2, 2007 by Rooster_Ties

[Rooster_Ties]

Dramatic pictures from after the event. (from the Minneapolis Star Tribune)

[Chalupa]

What a weak looking bridge!!!! Which one would seem stronger? The The solid old arch filled bridge, or this one???/

That bridge looks(looked) a 100 times safer than the one that I bike over everyday when I go to and from work.

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/view.php?id=7399

Here's another view...

Edited August 2, 2007 by J.H. Deeley

[catesta]

This is one of those things you think will never happen. I mean bridges go down as a result of natural disasters and shit, but you usually don't expect one to collapse because of structural failure.

I've thought about it though, while being stuck in traffic, mainly the Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges. I know they are supposed to flex and bend and all but that shit can make you a little uncomfortable when at a stand still.

[clifford_thornton]

I remember driving over that bridge often when I lived in Minneapolis. I can't imagine how traumatic it would be to be in this situation - my heart goes out to the victims.

I called my family and my sister and her fiance are safe; still have to find out about a few friends though.

[WD45]

140,000 cars use the bridge every day. I can't imagine how this will affect the city for months to come. You can't put a bridge of that size up quickly.

The governor said in a press conference something that contradicts a report in my earlier post. He says that there was no reported structural flaws in the May inspections...

[Rooster_Ties]

140,000 cars use the bridge every day.

I heard slightly over 200,000 per day on MSNBC earlier tonight. In either case, it's a LOT of traffic, to be sure.

[7/4]

I've thought about it though, while being stuck in traffic, mainly the Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges. I know they are supposed to flex and bend and all but that shit can make you a little uncomfortable when at a stand still.

I've thought about it on the Pulaski Skyway....

[connoisseur series500]

Incredible photos. I hope there are few if any casualties. Scary stuff. The cars look like toys in the photos.

[sidewinder]

I wonder if the wide temperature swigs at a place like Minneapolis have anyhting to do with it - from -30C or less in Winter through to +30/40 in Summer. I know that these bridges are built to cope with these temperature swings but it can't have helped the fatigue levels.

[clifford_thornton]

Yeah, I agree on that point.

[Jazzmoose]

Not trying to get this thread moved or anything, but this is what happens when the antigovernment crowd takes over the government and allows the infrastructure to weaken to the point of collapse.

[BERIGAN]

Some more info about this bridge from the site I got the first photo from....Don't know the first thing about bridge construction, but I still can tell if something looks solid or not. It just doesn't. The arch shape doesn't seem right. Look at how long those bridges in Europe have lasted with a classic arch supporting everything. Never have seen a bridge or overpass like this that I can recall. Plus, the anti-icing solution that comes out of this bridge, is it corrosive like salt is???

http://www.johnweeks.com/~jweeks/bridges/pages/ms16.html

[Dan Gould]

Not trying to get this thread moved or anything, but this is what happens when the antigovernment crowd takes over the government and allows the infrastructure to weaken to the point of collapse.

Yeah, its always their fault. Like the bridge collapse in CT about 20 years ago - nothing but Democrats in control of the legislature for 60 years or more, and what happens?

Wise up, Mark and understand that shit happens sometimes.