At Least 7 Dead, 60 Injured In Minneapolis Bridge Collapse
I couldn't imagine how frightening it would be to be driving along and all of a sudden, drop 64 feet.
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.
The eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, was in the midst of being repaired and had several lanes closed when it crumbled.
"There were two lanes of traffic, bumper to bumper, at the point of the collapse. Those cars did go into the river," Minneapolis Police Lt. Amelia Huffman. "At this point there is nothing to suggest that this was anything other than a structural collapse."
Jamie Winegar of Houston was sitting in traffic shortly after 6 p.m. when all of a sudden she started hearing "boom, boom, boom and we were just dropping, dropping, dropping, dropping."
The car she was riding in landed on top of a smaller car but did not fall into the water. She said her nephew yelled, "'It's an earthquake!' and then we realized the bridge was collapsing."
At least seven people were killed and 60 were taken to area hospitals, authorities said. Dr. Joseph Clinton, emergency medical chief at Hennepin County Medical Center, said his hospital treated 28 injured people — including six who were in critical condition.
Clinton said at least one of the victims had drowned.
The Homeland Security Department also said the collapse did not appear to be terrorism-related. The National Transportation Safety Board planned to send a team of investigators to Minneapolis, NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz said.
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.
Police Chief Tim Dolan said officers were checking other bridges as a precaution.
The steel-arched bridge, which was built in 1967, rises about 64 feet above the river. An estimated 50 vehicles plunged into the water and onto the land below.
***UPDATE***
The 2004 bridge inspections by the Dept. of Transportation show 27.5% of all bridges are deficient.
The most commonly cited indicator of bridge condition is the number of deficient bridges. Of the 591,707 bridges in the inventory, 162,869 are classified as deficient (27.5 percent), either for structural or functional causes. Of these, 81,304 are classified as structurally deficient and 81,565 are classified as functionally obsolete. Thus, roughly half of the deficiencies are structural and half are functional.
Exhibit 3-28 shows the trend of deficiency percentages from 1994 through 2002. Bridge deficiencies have been reduced primarily through reduction in the numbers of structurally deficient bridges. The percentage of functionally obsolete bridges has remained static over this time period.
As indicated earlier, structural deficiencies and functional obsolescence are considered mutually exclusive, with structural deficiencies taking precedence where ratings classify a given bridge as both structurally deficient and functionally obsolete. Roughly half of the 81,304 structurally deficient bridges have no functional obsolescence issues and are deficient solely on the basis of structural safety and deteriorated bridge component conditions. The remaining structurally deficient bridges also have some type of functional obsolescence.
***UPDATE***
Security camera footage of bridge collapse.
