Disaster: Bridge collapse
Date: August 1st, 2007
Location: Minneapolis MN
Cause: Structural Failure
Last year, I was at home typing up notes from service visits when I got a frantic call from my life coach in Canada. He’d seen the news that the 35w bridge in Minneapolis had collapsed and wanted to make sure I was ok. Given that I’m 2.6 miles away from the bridge, it was quite likely I could have crossed that that day. Retracing my steps showed me back and forth the I-94 bridge twice that day.
Grateful it wasn’t me? Yes
Holding my breath when I cross bridges now? Yes
And yes, I’d like to say more about this but I’ll keep it factual because this is still painful for many people and there’s no sense in blaming.
The Star and Tribune did an interactive piece called, “13 Seconds in August: The 35W Bridge Collapse“, where you can click on the individual cars and find out about the passengers.
Wikipedia entry about the bridge collapse
The I-35W Mississippi River bridge (officially known simply as ‘Bridge 9340′) was an eight-lane steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The bridge was completed in 1967, and its maintenance was performed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The bridge was Minnesota’s fifth–busiest,[4][5] carrying 140,000 vehicles daily.[2]
The bridge catastrophically failed during the evening rush hour on August 1, 2007, collapsing to the river and riverbanks beneath. Thirteen people were killed and approximately one hundred more were injured. Help came immediately after the collapse from mutual aid in the seven-county metropolitan area and emergency response personnel, charities, and volunteers. City and county employees managed the rescue using post–9/11 techniques and technology that may have saved lives.
The 35wbridgecollapse blog, last updated December 2007, has a solid collection of information , photos and video about the bridge collapse
