Interstate Bridge Falls Into Mississippi

[PEG688]

An interstate bridge jammed with rush-hour traffic suddenly broke into huge sections and collapsed into the Mississippi River Wednesday, pitching dozens of cars 60 feet into the water and killing at least seven people.


 


 Bad deal , metal bridge .

[glenn kangiser]

Pretty smashy.  Bad deal all right.

[glenn kangiser]

UPDATE: Local TV stations in Minneapolis are reporting that the bridge was known to have stress cracks in the structure.

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/

[highlight]This is the original posting by Michael Rivero of
WRH  that made me realize that old stories were being removed by mainstream media news.[/highlight]

[glenn kangiser]

Found this headline and text but when I went to read the story it had been removed.  GK

At least six dead in Minnesota bridge collapse - FOX23 News
The Minnesota Department of Transportation said in a May 2006 report that inspectors saw fatigue cracks and bending of girders, according to the local ...
www.fox23.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=4d0bc414-b156-4272-a41f-3957b7854a85 - 1 hour ago - Similar pages - Note this

found this in the UK:

The Minnesota Department of Transportation said in a May 2006 report that inspectors saw fatigue cracks and bending of girders, according to the local ABC-TV affiliate.

Link here: UK

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/usa/news/article_1337781.php/Minneapolis_road_bridge_collapses_three_dead

Originally posted in the search link as

The Minnesota Department of Transportation said in a May 2006 report that inspectors saw fatigue cracks and bending of girders that lift the approaching ...

CAN YOU SPELL [highlight]COVER UP[/highlight]

Note that in all these cases the cached links are gone.

[glenn kangiser]

Now the stories are being changed to say they have never found any problems.  I love a good government cover-up and they are doing a dandy job here.

Hopefully someone will post an unchanged copy of the original report so we can see it all rather than the snippets from before the stories were deleted and altered.

[glenn kangiser]

I found one unchanged copy in Malaysia and downloaded it.  Here is a link.  If it disappears I will post the text for information purposes.  Good cover job ,gov.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/2/worldupdates/2007-08-02T071124Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-287777-4&sec=Worldupdates

[highlight]The Minnesota Department of Transportation said in a May 2006 report that inspectors saw fatigue cracks and bending of girders, according to the local ABC-TV affiliate. [/highlight]

[glenn kangiser]

Finally found the other copy - slightly different - that has been removed in the USA -- also from Malaysia.


WEB EDITION :: International News
Minneapolis road bridge collapses, seven dead
Inequality deep despite 40 years of anti-discrimination laws / Eight million adults in serious debt / New U.S. carrier in Gulf region as force reduced / Singer R Kelly to be tried for child pornography / Spice Girl hits Eddie Murphy with paternity suit


MINNEAPOLIS (Aug 2, 2007): A highway bridge collapsed with a thunderous roar, hurling vehicles into the Mississippi River in central Minneapolis during evening rush hour yesterday and killing at least seven people, officials and media said.

CNN reported that at least seven people had been killed. It was not yet known how many people were injured.

"I can't tell you how many people we've got, they're still coming in," said an official in the emergency department at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Washington said there was no indication of terrorism in the disaster.

"There is no indication of a nexus to terrorism at this time," department spokesman Russ Knocke said.

State police said in a statement that the cause of the disaster was not yet known.

A 500-foot (150m) span of the eight-lane steel and concrete bridge, which was under repair, was crowded with commuters when it buckled and fell into the river and onto concrete embankments at about 6.05pm CDT (2305 GMT), witnesses reported.

"I saw them carrying up a body. I don't know if he was alive or dead," said Andy Schwich, who arrived at the scene on his bicycle a few minutes after the collapse.

A truck was exploding in fireballs, he said, and there were numerous cars either on the remnants of the bridge or in the river.

"It was the worst thing I ever saw," Schwich, 29, said.

CNN quoted emergency services saying as many as 50 to 100 cars were on the bridge when it collapsed. Divers were searching the water.

A freight train was passing under the bridge when it collapsed, and was cut in two, WCCO TV reported.

Witnesses said they heard a rumbling sound as the bridge collapsed into the river.

"First I heard this huge roar," Leone Carstens, a nearby resident, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "I was at my computer. Initially I thought, Wow was that an airplane?"

Steel pilings stuck out at angles from the riverbed, huge chunks of concrete appeared to be floating in the debris-strewn water, and plumes of smoke rose from the site, a Reuters eyewitness said.

At least three damaged cars were visible below from behind police lines along the riverbank near the collapsed span, which had stood about 65 feet (20m) above the river.

One witness said she saw people swimming in the water seeking safety and half-submerged vehicles. Injured survivors were led or carried up the embankment.

[highlight]The Minnesota Department of Transportation said in a May 2006 report that inspectors saw fatigue cracks and bending of girders that lift the approaching span, according to the local ABC-TV affiliate.
[/highlight]
The agency said 200,000 cars a day use the steel arch bridge which was built in 1967. - Reuters

Link:  http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=18815

[glenn kangiser]

Thought I would ask the Governor to be an honest politician - if there is such a thing.  Here's a copy of my e-mail.

[highlight]Bridge Collapse
From: glenn kangiser (glenn-k@*.com)
Sent:
Thu 8/02/07 2:34 AM
To:
tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us; glenn-k@.com (glenn-k@*.com); Kathy K (kathy@*.com); wrh@whatreallyhappened.com (wrh@whatreallyhappened.com)



It's sad that the bridge has collapsed and that your office and the news agencies are conspiring to cover up the transportation agency report showing cracks and bent girders.

Why don't you go ahead and come clean.  It's all over the internet.

"The Minnesota Department of Transportation said in a May 2006 report that inspectors saw fatigue cracks and bending of girders that lift the approaching span, according to the local ABC-TV affiliate."



glenn[/highlight]

[glenn kangiser]

I was inspired by the governors official story to the news media - current quote.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty said the bridge was inspected by the Minnesota Department of Transportation in 2005 and 2006 and that no structural problems were noted. "There were some minor things that needed attention," he said.

Yeah-- like cracks and bent girders.  Nothing major.   Lying Bastard.

Current US whitewashed cleaned up version of the story.  Put on your waders.  The BS is deep.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3438802

Lying Timmy quote from here- pg 2. http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/WireStory?id=3438802&page=2

Lying to escape liability? - it shouldn't work.  How about doing your job and taking care of business when repairs are needed instead of feeling sorry for families with lost loved ones, Timmy?.  Probably used the money to make improvements at the governors mansion.

See why I don't want these a-holes to take care of me?

[glenn kangiser]

I also e-mailed Fox 23 news.  Seems the story may have been changed somewhere else.  They took at as new info and said they would be working on getting it out to the public as soon as they verified it was correct.  The thing that gets me is that I copied the info from a search that was previously on their site but was gone or changed when I clicked the item.  Maybe changed by Rueters who supplied the original story.  It seems all the remaining copies are outside of our country now in fact the two I found are both Malaysia.

Copy of e-mail:

RE: Cover Up
From: Mccolloch, Aaron (amccolloch@fox23.com)
Sent:
Thu 8/02/07 6:46 AM
To:
glenn kangiser (glenn-k@*.com)

Cc:
NING, CHOOI L (ning@fox23.com)



Mr. Kangiser,

Thank you for writing to FOX23 News in regards to the Minnesota bridge collapse.  As is the case with major national news events, information is constantly updating from the scene, and with that new information we are getting it out to the public as soon, and with all regards to accuracy, as possible.  Let me assure you, there is absolutely no cover-up within our coverage of this event or any other event.

We will constantly be following and updating this story throughout the coming days and weeks.  Thank you for viewing www.fox23.com and FOX23 News.

Aaron McColloch
Asst. News Director

   -----Original Message-----
   From: glenn kangiser [mailto:glenn-k@*.com]
   Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2007 3:24 AM
   To: KOKI News
   Subject: Cover Up

   I am looking for the article that was pulled from your site regarding then cracks in the Minneapolis Bridge.

   Here is an excerpt from the article.

   At least six dead in Minnesota bridge collapse - FOX23 News
   The Minnesota Department of Transportation said in a May 2006 report that inspectors saw fatigue cracks and bending of girders, according to the local ...
   www.fox23.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=4d0bc414-b156-4272-a41f-3957b785 4a85

   Are you participating in a cover-up?  Who instigated the cover -up?

   Thanks for your assistance.

   Glenn

[glenn kangiser]

From WRH

FROM MINNESOTA

           

I am writing from Minnesota - I live in the Twin Cities.

My father is in construction, and contracts for many of the companies who service our roads and bridges. While he was not on the 35W bridge contract, he is familiar with many of the people who were.

Word on the CB is that this bridge had one of the worst safety ratings ever - a rating of 4. It was classified as a federal bridge, not a state bridge. Everyone familiar with anticipated constructon projects knew the bridge would need major repairs, but the transportation budget was diverted towards expansion of the International airport and the land preparation for a new ballfield. The companies the state contracts through are having problems keeping up their workforce due to the increasing cost of diesel fuel and insurance. Many independant operators, like my father, are selling their trucks in Mexico, where they are paid twice what they're worth here in the states. This means that drivers here end up not only paying more for their trucks when they purchase them, but paying more for repair parts, too, as a majority of truck parts are also down in Mexico. The labor pool is also being saturated by illegal immigrants, who work for a season without having to pay any taxes, and then disappear when the season is done, whereas honest people like my father are forced to pay not only income tax on their wages, but self-employment tax as well.

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/fromminnesota.php


Note that I rec'd a blanket acknowledgment from Tim Pawlenty's  office.

[glenn kangiser]

Out of country news is harder to control -

All US major media outlets are only allowed to tell approved stories, as they are under control of about 6 major  corporations.

Minnesota bridge problems had been noted
North Korea Times
Thursday 2nd August, 2007



Minnesota state authorities say the bridge that collapsed over the Mississippi River was built 40 years ago and was under repair for minor problems.

Constructed in 1967, the mainly steel structure stretches 581 metres across the river in Minneapolis and rests on 14 spans.

In a 2001 report by the state's Department of Transportation, problems with corrosion in the bridge's steel beams and poor welding in trusses was documented.

The report also said that the design of the bridge, in which only two main trusses support the load of eight lanes of traffic, was theoretically at risk of collapse in the case of a single crack in a truss section.

The section of the bridge that straddled the Mississippi measured 300 metres with three continuous spans, and the central part 139 metres long, and two others at 80 metres each.

The structure was designed using a cantilever method, with decks resting on triangular metal girders supported by arches between the spans.

http://story.northkoreatimes.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/c08dd24cec417021/id/270197/cs/1/

[glenn kangiser]

More than one report of problems.

A March 2001 study by the state's transport agency found that the approach spans ``exhibited several fatigue problems, primarily due to unanticipated out-of-plane distortion of the girders. Concern about fatigue cracking in the deck truss is heightened by a lack of redundancy in the main truss system.''

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aiJ8hqn5ILnU&refer=home

[glenn kangiser]

Link to video's

http://ugv.abcnews.go.com/search.aspx?q=minneapolis+bridge

another from WRH

http://www.kare11.com/video/player.aspx?aid=51385&bw=

[kevinwil]

Hello Everyone,

 I had to join to just point this out.  I am wondering if this will hasten the push to privitization of roads even more.  I live in TX, and they have been pushing the trans-Texas corridor which would be wholly owned by a foreign corporation and would be their property to toll cars as they wish.  Unlike a traditional state/federal funded road, the toll booths will NEVER go away.  
 Somewhere, NPR, or some other seemingly 'on the level' entity will point out the failures, and the absolute failure of the gov to fix the bridges.  I wias listening to the local radio this morning, and the DoT coordinator for the catastrophe in Minnesota was justifying her position by stating, "Well, yes, this bridge only scored a 50 out of 120 possible points for structural integrity, but there are over 160k bridges which are equally rated or worse in the US."  This is a huge story, and even with the mainstream whitewash, there will be public outcry.

 Was that the intention from the beginning?  Was the bridge made to fall in some way, or allowed to fall?  Think about, the whole country will clammer to take the whole thing away from incomptent government, and hand it straight to greedy corps.  

Anyway, my conspiracy brain @ work again.  At the end of the day, this is another terrible tragedy which could have been prevented, and was not.  How many more of the other 160k bridges do you drive over every morning?

Thanks!
-Kevin

[glenn kangiser]

Glad you joined, Kevin.  

Sorry about having to make you join to comment but we've had some very naughty spammers.

I have no question that what you are saying could be a possibility.  As the saying goes for finding the political reasons that things are done or sometimes allowed to happen, Follow The Money.

An observer from Spain commented [highlight]"The US Tax is for the neocons Wars, not for repaired civil structures..."[/highlight]  This is true and blame can be traced all the way to Washington DC.  This is a Federal highway bridge.

Total ineptness is also a motivator for politicians, though.  I can see state and Federal not cooperating on this one and not getting
the job done.  From the report information they have tried to remove reference to, it is obvious that at least the inspectors did their part of the job.  This should have been a priority job and the freeway shut down from the reported damage, but it appears they thought that if they ignored it, it would go away.

We have quite a bit of info on the Transcontinental Corridor also.  If you have time browse through our other topics.  Sassy and I try to keep things stirred up here.  Thanks for joining and commenting.

http://www.countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1155946207  Toward A North American Union

http://www.countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?board=OT-1A
Off Topic - Ideas, politics, rants

Here is the regular free forum on building small cabins and houses.  

http://www.countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl
CountryPlans Design-Build Forum

and here is the main Countryplans small house and cabin site

http://www.countryplans.com/

Thanks to John for giving us this space to carry on in.

[glenn kangiser]

In line with the comment from Spain

WASHINGTON -- President Bush yesterday proposed deep cuts to federal healthcare, education, and [highlight]transportation programs[/highlight], searching for new money in the federal budget to pay for increasingly costly defense programs and the war in Iraq.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/02/06/bush_budget_puts_pinch_on_domestic_spending/



Thanks to WHATREALLYHAPPENED.COM

[glenn kangiser]

[highlight]White House spokesman Tony Snow said an inspection two years ago had found structural deficiencies in the bridge[/highlight]

From China View along with some new photos.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-08/02/content_6467235.htm

[Sassy]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Minnesota officials were warned as early as 1990 that the bridge that plummeted into the Mississippi River was "structurally deficient," yet they relied on a strategy of patchwork fixes and stepped-up inspections.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRIDGE_COLLAPSE?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[glenn kangiser]

DOT inspection report with tons of info detailing failure indications that even to me show that major failures were on the way.  The problems noted could not have happened without major portions of the bridge beginning to fail and stressing the areas where problems are indicated.

http://www.dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/pdfs/bridge_inspection_report_06-15-06.pdf

If the report is not available on the above server, I saved a copy and can send it to you.

113 PAINT STEEL STRINGER 2 06-15-2006 14,896 LF 0 14,000 700 196 0
06-10-2005 14,896 LF 0 14,700 0 150 46
Notes: 27" deep rolled stringers (truss spans). [1995] Stringers have section loss: pitting, flaking & surface rust corrosion at
expansion joints. [1999] Median stringers re-painted. [91/2000] Stringer/floorbeam connections are "working". Several bolts
[1969] Pier 9: east column damaged by train derailment (minor scrapes & spalls). [1993] Pier 7: west column has a
vertical crack. [2000] Pier 11: west column has a minor spall. [1996] Pier 1 has tipped slightly northward. Likely related to
hinge failure in span 2 (south abutment bearings are in full contraction).are loose or missing.

[1986] Crossbeam web stiffeners cracked at SE rocker hinge (rocker bearing had frozen). Cracks were welded/drilled out,
and bracing was added (attached to approach span beams). [1992/98] Several cracks found in crossbeam & end
floorbeam at the NE rocker hinge. Some cracks were drilled out, and bracing was added (attached to approach span
beams). [1998/99] End floorbeams & "crossbeams re-painted. Floorbeam trusses have numerous poor weld details,
section loss: pitting, flaking & surface rust, some have holes, (plug welds & tack welds in tension zones).

[1999] Crossbeam rocker hinge bearings re-painted (all show evidence of recent movement). [1995]
Span 2: all hinge bearings are locked in full expansion (beam ends contacting). [[94/2000] Some abutment bearings are rusty (joints leaking). [1996] South abutment bearings are in full contraction.
[1994] Main truss roller bearings have section loss: pitting, flaking & surface rust, moderate corrosion.

[98/2000] Numerous fatigue cracks found in approach spans. Cracks were located at negative moment diaphragm
connections where the stiffener was not welded to the top flange. In span 9, the 3rd beam from the east had a 4 FT long
crack in the web (it was reinforced with bolted plates). Most existing cracks were drilled out, and the diaphragm
connections were lowered to reduce stress levels. [2004] Crack found in cope north approach crossbeam at beam G1C
bottom flange 2 1/2" east side, 2" west side.

[highlight]966 FRACTURE CRITICAL 2 06-15-2006 1 EA 1 0 0 N/A N/A
06-10-2005 1 EA 1 0 0 N/A N/A
Notes: See in-depth report for location of F/C members
[/highlight]
I'd Love to see that one - wonder if we can find it.

Note:  I am not an engineer (General Contractor - structural steel erector- installer - Certified welder, all position - all thickness ) but have worked with heavy structural steel for years and understand problem indications associated with it.

[tanya]

This is such a tragedy and to think of those poor families who sit there today knowing that it would have been prevented if safety had been a priority.  I think safety first accross the borad should be a governemnt mandate and forget tax dollards funding anything that isn't useful and accessible to all citizens.  Ballparks?  Who can afford a ticket?  Probably not most of those people on that bridge and most of them probably couldn't afford to take another route to work or home or miss work alltogether until the bridge was properly repaired.  Govt. should use contractors whenever possible.  Growing governmet agencies is not the role of government.  Contractors have to meet specific standards to have contracts issued or renewed.  Government agencies just have to review policy and procedure.  How about some accountability?

[glenn kangiser]

Found the Fracture Critical report and saved a copy.  Lots of nice pictures of problems and failed areas. future failure areas, etc.

http://www3.dot.state.mn.us/hottopics/35w/06_br_%209340%20.pdf

Cracked tack welds, while maybe not a problem in themselves, can be a starting point for a tear in an entire structural member, hence the inspectors concern about them.  Some of the other things shown in the photos and comments included in this report make you wonder why it wasn't shut down completely.

I realize it's easy to be critical after the fact.  The question is why weren't the proper agencies critical enough to take action before the fact. :-?

[glenn kangiser]

Minn. Bridge Problems Uncovered in 1990
Minn. Officials Warned About Bridge Problems as Early as 1990; State Relied on Patchwork Fixes

In a 2001 report from the University of Minnesota's Department of Civil Engineering, inspectors found some girders had become distorted. Engineers also saw evidence of fatigue on trusses and said the bridge might collapse if part of the truss gave way under the eight-lane freeway.

"A bridge of that vintage you always have to be concerned about that," said Richard Sause, director of the Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems Center at Lehigh University. "In a steel bridge of that age, sure you'd be concerned about those kind of things and be diligent about looking after it. And it seems like they were."

It takes time for a fatigue crack to develop, but a crack can then expand rapidly to become a fracture, said James Garrett, co-director of the Center for Sensed Critical Infrastructure Research at Carnegie Mellon University. "If you get a crack that goes undetected it would be something that appears to happen more rapidly."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/WireStory?id=3442381&page=1

[glenn kangiser]

MnDOT feared cracking in bridge but opted against making the repairs



Photo by Bruce Bisping , Star Tribune

View of the I-35W bridge collapse from the south side; the overpass in the background is University Avenue SE.

Structural deficiencies in the I-35W bridge were so serious that MnDOT last winter considered bolting steel plates to its supports to prevent cracking in fatigued metal.

http://www.startribune.com/10204/story/1339411.html

[PEG688]

 Sad , steel is a good product , till it fails   It does tend to fail catastrophically when it goes .