Minneapolis Bridge Collapse
Thursday, 2nd August 2007 by Alex Turnbull
Yesterday at 6:05pm local time, the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis failed catastrophically. Sadly this tragedy occurred during the evening rush hour - and at time of writing at least 6 people have died, around 60 were injured, and there are a further 20 people still missing.
The BBC have a photo gallery containing some terrifying images of the devastation, and there's also an aerial shot which clearly shows the extent of the damage.
More information can be found as it happens at Google News, and for the history of the bridge, see Wikipedia.
Our thoughts are with those affected.
About the author
Alex has decided that his title will be Senior Vice President of Stuff.
Hard to pay for upkeep of the infrastructure when you are spending 1 TRILLION dollars on a phony war.
Yesterday was super crazy here in Minneapolis. Luckily, nobody I know was hurt.
I wonder if they could do a new satellite pass like they did over New Orleans after the hurricane.
They have video footage now on Yahoo I can’t believe how quick it seems to fall, its awful, hope they find the missing 20 soon.
Patrick, bridge upkeep is a state priority, not a federal priority.
So the war has nothing to do with it.
Its a terrible thing but to think a school bus with 60 kids escaped i think we should be thankful it wasn’t worse.
Patrick,
Richter is right; interstate highways are kept up by the states, not the feds. Also, the bridge was cited as “structurally deficient” in 1990, long before the “phony war” that you seem to detest.
That’s the problem with so many people today: they don’t get their facts straight before they shoot off at the mouth about something.
The important thing is to be in prayer for the victims, their families, and those participating in the recovery effots.
Doug
Without wanting to create controversy, especially on a subject I’m willing to admit I’m almost completely ignorant of…. surely if you take a country, and it Gross National Product as a whole, and that country spends a large part of those funds on defence, then there must be less funds going to the states: as indipendant as they may appear to be, are they completely self funded?
It´s more than 20 years that I lived in Minneapolis for a while. I always thougt, western countries wouldn´t be so ignorant and endanger people… Hope, they find the missing people soon.
Further examination also shows a ghostly truck appearing on the bridge, exactly where it broke, where two shots are glued together: anyone for a bet on the start of an urban myth concerning sympathetic magic and Edinburgh?
Google Earth also suggests Mafia involvement, see the panoramio shot of the bridge from the north…
…quite apart from the invisible tower block to the south
Hey! I know. Lets build another bike trial…
How are the bridges and trains over there in Europe? How much are you guys spending on this phony war? Ben is correct.
There’s nothing phoney about being bombed in one’s own capital, Patrick, whether Baghdad, Kabul or London…
“No one wins. It’s a war of man.”
Each state is responsible for the upkeep of the part of the federal highway system within its borders, meeting strict technical standards with the aid of billions of federal dollars. When our king decides to make war on millions of innocent people for his own glory, all sorts of bad things happen everywhere.
Doug, While you are giving someone a hard time about not knowing the facts before spewing at the keyboard. Maybe YOU should read a little more before throwing around “structurally deficient”. Do you know what it means? Or are you just throwing it around like the press?
Do you know that of 20,000 bridges in Minnesota over 20 feet long. Over 1,000 of them are labeled “structurally deficient”. With over 40,000 bridges across the US having the same label.
“structurally deficient” does NOT mean what the press would like you to think it means. It just means the bridge has issues. None of them dangerous.
Contrary to obvious and oblivious popular belief, the Interstate Freeway system is actually Federally Funded and although the work done on the freeway may be done by the State’s workers, it is the responsibility of the Federal Government to ensure that the Interstate Freeway system remains operable. Ever heard of the Commerce Clause in the Constitution? If you want proof of the funding origin of the Minneapolis 35W Bridge go to the Mn/DOT site at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/information/funding2005/highwayfinances.html
Who has built the bridge? Who used cheap materials to build it such as low quality concrete and steel? Who is cheating out taxpayers and anyone else getting involved with them? Who is crapping up any business they’re getting involved in? Who shot JFK?