Bridges Under Scrutiny As Minn. Mourns

As Many As 30 People Still Missing In Wake Of I-35W Bridge Collapse; At Least 4 Dead, 79 Injured

(CBS/AP)  With as many as 30 people still missing following Wednesday evening's catastrophic bridge collapse, families are braced for further news as the recovery effort continues in the murky waters of the Mississippi. Laura Bush will visit the scene today and meet with victims and victims' families.

As divers search the river for submerged vehicles and bodies trapped beneath the twisted debris of the I-35W bridge, finger-pointing has already begun over a federal report two years ago that found the bridge was "structurally deficient."

Several teams of investigators are examining the evidence on what may have caused the eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge to buckle and collapse.

"It's hard to be conclusive so early, but it looks like the main support, the main steel arch, may have given way or something right near it," Richard Stehly, an expert in bridge engineering and co-founder of St. Paul, Minn.-based American Engineering Testing, told CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric.

"Also, the things that support the main arch, the foundations on either bank, perhaps they did. But investigators will look at everything. They will look at the materials. They will look at all the pieces of debris. And they'll find out the cause, because we need to learn the reason for its failure."

Inspections as far back as 2000 on the bridge identified both corrosion in the steel and a lot of cracking, says Stehly.

Questions are also being raised about a 2005 report in the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Bridge Inventory that rated the bridge as "structurally deficient" and possibly in need of replacement.

The report said there were fatigued details on the main truss and floor truss system. Yet it concluded there was no need to prematurely replace the bridge because of fatigue cracking, avoiding the high cost associated with such a large project.

When the bridge was built 40 years ago, it was state of the art, a massive steel arch spanning the Mississippi. But the bridge was designed without the extra support common to later designs, which meant that if one component failed, the whole bridge was likely to fall, reported CBS station WCCO-TV in Minneapolis.

Federal officials alerted states Thursday to immediately inspect all bridges similar to the Minneapolis bridge that collapsed.

President Bush, who will travel to the scene of the disaster on Saturday, said the federal government would help rebuild the bridge in the city that will host next year's Republican National Convention.

"We in the federal government must respond, and respond robustly, to help the people there not only recover, but to make sure that lifeline of activity — that bridge — gets rebuilt as quickly as possible," Mr. Bush said.

Still stung by harsh criticism of the government's sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Bush talked with state and local officials in Minnesota, and the administration dispatched officials to the scene.

The House Transportation Committee quickly approved legislation Thursday that would direct $250 million to Minnesota to help it replace the bridge.

The White House said a U.S. inspection of the 40-year-old bridge in 2005 found problems. The Interstate 35W span rated 50 on a scale of 100 for structural stability and was classified as "structurally deficient," transportation officials said.

The designation means some portions of the bridge needed to be scheduled for repair or replacement, and it was on a schedule for inspection every two years. "It didn't mean that the bridge is unsafe," Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said.

[jaytate1981]

MY PRYARS GO OUT TO ALL THE VICTIMS AND THEIR LOVED ONES.

BRANDY C.
COLUMBUS, OHIO

[murphykiki]

It is amazing living here in Minneapolis and having friends and family call from all over the nation to make sure my family and I are okay... Thank you God for protecting those who were safe on 35w and be with those who may have lost love ones and heal those that have been broken...In Jesus Name

[mike71067]

If you want some news that's a bit on the lighter side, check out the far-left blog, DailyKos. The comments posted regarding the bridge collapse are priceless. They're already blaming Bush and Cheney for the collapse. Some of those nuts are even suggesting a conspiracy was behind it.

[longdistdiag]

Putting aside the human part of the story... I understand engineers' avoiding premature diagnosis without having enough info to make a good diagnosis. I have my theories though for IF the cause was not related to the fatigue cracks. Take with a grain of salt because it is pure long-distance speculation.
The bridge construction is item #6 on the MNDOT pdf list of Minneapolis construction projects, listed as "Bridge repair, concrete rehabilitation..." I don't know for sure if parts of the concrete deck were removed, cut, or weakened during this repair work, but my theory is that the lane restrictions caused an unbalanced load and the trusses were loaded eccentrically and had a torsion component. The bridge repairs may have disconnected the deck diaphragm from the top chord of the trusses, leaving the top chord, which was in compression, unbraced at a local segment of the truss. The vibration of the train combined with the torsional load and the unbraced top chord may have caused the top chord to have buckled and failed in one spot creating a hinge in the entire truss. The way the bridge pieces are laying on the ground it kind of looks like a lateral torsional failure of the truss as a whole... it looks like the center of the bridge moved quite far in the lateral/horizontal direction.

[ammermantm]

I would love to blame Bush, but even if the government had given us (I live here in Minneapolis) the mony to repair the bridge it would not have been singled out as a concern because it did not show signs of concern. this is a freak accident that happened. terrible yes but not Bush's fault.

[hawksprings]

Ammermantm, you're right.

Besides, this bridge should have been replaced YEARS ago.

It's Clinton's fault!!

...

[processor2]

Posted by GKC99 at 11:04 AM : Aug 02, 2007

This bridge was built in 1967...Bush wasn't president in 1967.

Are all liberals as ignorant as you?????

...

[processor2]

Posted by GKC99 at 11:04 AM : Aug 02, 2007

This bridge was built in 1967...Bush wasn't president in 1967.

Are all liberals as ignorant as you?????

...

[missingamerica]

President Bush said the federal government will help ensure that the collapsed bridge "gets rebuilt as quickly as possible."

Sweet. All you have to do is have a bridge fall down, and Bush suddenly gives a hoot about the nation's infrastructure.

I bet you if a couple of jets get lost on the nation's air traffic control system and collide, he'll give a hoot about that part of our crumbling infrastructure, too.

Must be a Republican thing; don't ever plan ahead for worst case scenarios, and whenever possible don't plan ahead at all.

[pwrslm]

If it were actually a terrorist attack, it would be wise not to give them credit for it in the world press either way.

When the muslim world see's they succeded, it only inflames thier patriotism....good for recruiting suicide idiots for the next attacks...

[pwrslm]

wow

they are spending 40 billion a year for keeping up with bridges and roadways already

maybe we should spend another 100 billions, eh?

How much is enough, gotta get rational here.

[teeus]

"I would love to blame Bush, but ...the mony to repair the bridge it would not have been singled out as a concern because it did not show signs of concern..."
Posted by Ammermantm

Oooooh, not so fast:
"The bridge was rated as "structurally deficient" 2 years ago and possibly in need of replacement. The deficiency rating is from a complex formula. A score of 80 percent or less indicates some rehabilitation may be needed; a 50 percent score or less indicates replacement may be in order. The bridge was rated at 50 percent.

The data also summarize the bridge's status as "structurally deficient." Bridge components are ranked on a scale of 0 to 9, with 0 being "failed" and 9 being "excellent."

In 2005, the bridge's superstructure was rated at 4. The bridge's deck was rated 5, and the substructure, comprised of the piers, abutments, footings and other components, was rated 6. The report noted "many poor fatigue details" and said certain members of the main truss should be inspected every two years. In addition, the report said, certain sections of the floor trusses had high stress areas that should be inspected every six months.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Wednesday night that the bridge was inspected in 2005 and 2006." http://www.startribune.com/10204/story/1338970.html

But what they fail to mention is that Gov Tim Pawlenty cut the MNDOT budget for inspections. They might have inspected the bridges, but it was a shortened version of the standard tests.

[ajanasz]

First of: this is horrible, awful and i still can't believe this happened!!
Second: why are we having a ground breaking for a new stadium that we dont need when there are bridges falling into water??? we should be taking that money that the tax payers are spending (tax payers who my guess drive more then go to baseball games) and use it to make them safer so they don't die on the way to baseball games. for any minnesotan right now this is a very hard time and the government talking about re-schedualing the ground breaking isn't making it any easier. stop the groud break all together and spend the money on something we NEED not something we dont! we need to feel safe in our state and if we can't feel safe then i am going to guess no one is going want to go to any games no matter how nice the stadium is.
Thank you

[gkc99]

"This bridge was built in 1967...Bush wasn't president in 1967.
Are all liberals as ignorant as you?????"
Posted by processor2

What does the date the bridge was built have to do with maintenance over the last 7 years, other than to suggest that maintenance might be due on a 40 year old bridge.

Are all Bushits as stupid as you?

[gkc99]

"When the muslim world see's they succeded, it only inflames thier patriotism....good for recruiting suicide idiots for the next attacks... "
Posted by pwrslm

Sort of the way the Bushit administration uses attacks to inflame the patriotism of some not-too-bright righties in the USA?

[tucano2]

Maybe not this particular structure, but thousands of bridges built in the 1920's for light traffic including an occasional 20,000 pound truck today are being abused by dense traffic including many 80,000 pound trucks. No wonder they collapse.

[donnie900]

Ok. Nobody concern yerself with this stuff no more. Lets worry about Iran.

[global_chick]

What a shock -- the loony leftist trolls are bashing Bush again, rather than offer condolences to victims and families. You people are sick.

[l8c6]

What a shock -- the loony leftist trolls are bashing Bush again, rather than offer condolences to victims and families. You people are sick.

Posted by global_chick

You're right, it isn't Bush's fault. He's just the current poster boi of the right wing fascists who began decades ago running their hoe corporate funded politicians for office who proclaimed their hatred for government. They systematically began deregulating, privatizing and selling off representative democracy to the highest bidders. Our infrastructure has held up for several years due to a once strong american legacy and now that strength is weakening while the private pockets of an ever shrinking number of piggies are walking off with the booty.

[missingamerica]

"What a shock -- the loony leftist trolls are bashing Bush again, rather than offer condolences to victims and families. You people are sick." Posted by global_chick

That is the Republican modus operandi, isn't it? Offer condolences to the victims and their families after the fact, instead of doing anything to prevent or abate the catastrophe?

9/11, Katrina, Iraq, Tillman, this bridge in Minnesota..same Republican line every single time:

"we're really sorry, and it wasn't our fault."

[l8c6]

What a shock -- the loony leftist trolls are bashing Bush again, rather than offer condolences to victims and families. You people are sick.

Posted by global_chick

I'd also add. If it weren't for the loony left a civil society wouldn't exist and people like yourself would be eaten alive or totally pimped off because you certainly wouldn't be at the top of the sociopathic food chain of the right wing.

[l8c6]

What a shock -- the loony leftist trolls are bashing Bush again, rather than offer condolences to victims and families. You people are sick.

Posted by global_chick

So I take it being so upstanding as you must be you have spoken out against the horrific trash that Rush Limboob, Ann Coultergeist and the myriad of other fascist haters have spewed out for decades. Global you ain't ....Europeans would kick your sorry a*ss

[nsane4fab4]

Here, here to global chick. If the rest of you want to sound off on politics, go to a political story. Condolences to the families in MN.

[missingamerica]

You know, I think that is why the Republicans make half-a$$ed leaders.

They only are interested in running the Department of MakeMeRicher, and the Department of EverythingElse can go to he11 for all they care.

They're just like little kids that want to eat the cake but don't want to do any of the work of making the cake or cleaning up the dishes after.

[susieq_13]

My prayers are with all those who ended up in this big mess of a bridge collapse. How awful

[mo005]

Keep graspin there buddie keep graspin

[missingamerica]

mo005 - go back a page in the comments and read the message from teeus at 11:44 AM : Aug 02, 2007.

[missingamerica]

To borrow a quote from a current article on a competitor's of CBS:

"A report card two years ago from the American Society of Civil Engineers said that 34 percent of major roads are in poor or mediocre condition."

But would the Republicans pay any attention to such news? What, and run the risk of losing their tax cuts so America could return to funding its infrastructure maintenance?

Hah.

[jabberwock11]

"Ok. Nobody concern yerself with this stuff no more. Lets worry about Iran."

Hmmm? Well.... I think we should fix our bridges first before fixing any in Iran.

[one_american]

My heart and prayers go out to those involved in this tragedy, and to their families.

The poor souls posting here afflicted with Bush Derangement Syndrome should be put out of their misery - and America's.

My advice to them: get involved in your community and volunteer for something that keeps you from dwelling on evil, twisted thoughts and actually *helps* those who live around around you.

[missingamerica]

Oh, and to borrow a quote from a CBS article on this website about questions being raised about the bridge's collapse:

"Questions are also being raised about a 2005 report in the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Bridge Inventory which rated the bridge as 'structurally deficient.'"

[global_chick]

The left, civil? Right, the same people who kill babies in the name of "choice." They think it's great to stab an infant in the back of the neck with a scissors and suck out the fluid.

[jetlizhan]

this is straight from a horror movie! can you imagine driving home for a hard day's work and bam! you're either in the water or on top of another vehicle. God bless these people. some of them didn't even have a chance. i hope all the missing are found today, but you know they're in their cars at the bottom of the river. Lord bless all these families.

[newsguy101]

i love how this tragedy has been made a political event by you people. Republicans and Democrats were on that bridge together. GEORGE BUSH HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE COLLAPSE OF THE BRIDGE! Got it?

[jetlizhan]

One_American -

very well said! i agree

[global_chick]

It was refreshing to hear about the number of Minnesotans who stopped to help out their fellow human beings, either by assisting, giving blood or by some other means. Thank God there are still some nice people out there.

[motherjones-2009]

While a trillion dollars is being pi**ed away on Bush's pointless war, the critical infrastructure of this nation is crumbling around us.

Between bush's war and his billionaire tax cuts, there's nothing left to invest in the infrastructure that keeps us alive and allows our economy to work.

[missingamerica]

"The left, civil? Right, the same people who kill babies in the name of "choice." They think it's great to stab an infant in the back of the neck with a scissors and suck out the fluid."

Posted by global_chick at 01:21 PM : Aug 02, 2007

It is so much more civilized to let the baby be born in some unknown state of health due to defunding of prenatal nutrition plans, and then let it starve to death due to cutbacks in WIC and so on, or let it die of some horrid, crippling disease in early childhood because there was no health insurance to save it.

Why?

Because if the baby dies after it is born...this is where the right-wingers among the Republicans always lose me.

[jabberwock11]

Ok, I'm as big of a Bush hater as anyone, but really, this has nothing to do with Bush or politics. A better question is how many other "structurally deficient" bridges are there out there. This one was rated "structurally deficient" in 2005. Also is there a list of them that the public can look at so we can plan our commutes.

[missingamerica]

It does have something to do with politics, jabber.

Maintaining infrastructure costs money.

There is a whole segment of America's population that believes it is rational to think that if a bridge, for instance, is not on their daily commute then they shouldn't be taxed to build or maintain it.

The most powerful of them get back and forth via their personal helicopters..and so bridges that fall down are your problem, not theirs.

Regardless of the fact that it was the nation's infrastructure that built the economy that enabled them or their parents to get rich in the first place...

[ammermantm]

Posted by jabberwock11 at 01:38 PM : Aug 02, 2007

I am curious how they get to the definition "structurally deficient" this was known by someone important and instead of fixing the structure of this bridge they were resurfacing it. so to that means "structurally deficient" is not taken too seriously.

[mike71067]

"Between bush's war and his billionaire tax cuts, there's nothing left to invest in the infrastructure that keeps us alive and allows our economy to work."
-Posted by motherjones at 01:33 PM : Aug 02, 2007

A perfect example of my previous point. As wacky as the American left is, you really have to give credit where credit is due - they're great entertainers!

Now check out this post:

"It is so much more civilized to let the baby be born in some unknown state of health due to defunding of prenatal nutrition plans, and then let it starve to death due to cutbacks in WIC and so on, or let it die of some horrid, crippling disease in early childhood because there was no health insurance to save it."
-Posted by ibsteve2u at 01:37 PM : Aug 02, 2007


Wow! So WE can decide another human's fate, based on whether or not WE think that child will have a good quality of life. I have a child with a pretty serious disability, and it was known about before her birth. She is one of the happiest kids I've ever met - her physical state doesn't even matter to her. She loves life that much.

[nothappyatall]

She noted that many other bridges around the country carry the same designation and declined to say what the agency had done to address the deficiencies.

well of COURSE she declined tosay what the agency has done about other bridges with defects, the fact that this one COLLAPSED says exactly what they have done- exactly ZERO.

[missingamerica]

Nice, mike71067. Selective quoting in order to shift the context. Are you a Swift Boat "veteran"?

[weareone2]

Many times politic comments are inserted into articles where I don't think it is appropriate. I feel that it is appropriate in this case, because most roads are public entities, built and maintained with tax money, that are necessary to our society. The actions of politicians in regard to the transportation infrastructure determines the viability of our not only our economy, but even our lives. (Eg., access to jobs, food, medical care, and all other goods depends on transportation.)

[getcentered]

I don't know about yall, but I'm a Republican who would rather have my tax dollars given to churches who preach politics, and would rather spend billions killing a 100,000 Iraqis and thousands of US service men and women, then fix America%u2019s problems.






That%u2019s sarcasm%u2026.could you smell it?

[peter776-2009]

Our nation has squandered over ONE TRILLION DOLLARS on Iraq -- all so we could create the World's most advanced terrorist training camp for jihadis. Meanwhile, over 35% of bridges in the federal bridge registry are now designated as "structurally deficient" -- the same rating as the bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis THE ENTIRE U.S. INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM COULD HAVE BEEN REBUILT WITH ALL THE TAXPAYER MONEY THAT HAS BEEN WASTED IN IRAQ. Our ridiculous clown of a President is to blame, as is our equally lame do-nothing Congress. VOTE ALL THE SELF-SERVING CLOWNS OUT OF OFFICE IN THE NEXT ELECTION. LET'S GET PEOPLE INTO GOVERNMENT WHO UNDERSTAND THEY REPRESENT THE TAXPAYER.

[mike71067]

"Nice, mike71067. Selective quoting in order to shift the context. Are you a Swift Boat "veteran"?
-Posted by ibsteve2u at 01:51 PM : Aug 02, 2007

No - a Michael Moore fan.

[missingamerica]

"I have a child with a pretty serious disability, and it was known about before her birth. She is one of the happiest kids I've ever met - her physical state doesn't even matter to her. She loves life that much."

Posted by mike71067

First, I am happy for you and your child.

However, I would point out that if you have ever used any government-funded medical, nutrition, or educational program to benefit your child then, in the eyes of those on the far right, you are a member of the left - and in the eyes of the left, you are difficult to understand.

If you've gotten by solely via a corporate health care plan, you are fortunate - and a rare American in this day and age.

If you've gotten by just on your personal wealth, you are fortunate, indeed. And that would explain your perspective.

[dodaz-2009]

Some things that happen, are not as BLACK and WHITE as they seem...

I hope they do a VERY thorough Investigation into what happened... Such a tragedy