I've been contemplating writing about this topic since the tragedy occured a few days ago. I wasn't sure if it was a topic I should tackle since normally I don't write about current events. But for a couple of reasons, I decided to write about it. Number one is that I don't live that far from Minneapolis. Number two is that I am partly a road-geek, meaning I enjoy most things that relate to roads. And number three, a major bridge collapsing in the United States is unthinkable and it's something that NEVER should have happened.
Recalling a family vacation about ten years ago, my parents, sister, and myself traveled to Minneapolis to see the Detroit Tigers play the Twins in the Metrodome. We also visited the Mall of America and stayed at a beautiful hotel in the Twin Cities (I can't remember whether it was in St. Paul or Minneapolis). We also visited the state capital in St. Paul and even took pictures of the structure. But believe it or not, I remember crossing the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis. I don't remember too many specific details about crossing the structure, but I do remember looking down upon the Mississippi River and seeing how wide the river was. I also recall seeing the 10th Avenue Arch bridge (the one that presently stands next to the rubble of the I-35W bridge). I was amazed at how wide this bridge was and it seemed to be quite lengthy, too. We were riding in our pick-up truck and I remember Tracy Chapman's "Give me One Reason" playing on the radio. In fact, that had to have been in 1997. Ten years later, that bridge collapses.
It's inconceivable to me how a bridge like this can fall down in a matter of seconds just because of a structural failure. If you've seen the video, it doesn't take long at all before much of the bridge is in the Mississippi River. This bridge was a major artery within the Twin Cities and without it, a major traffic headache exists. I still cannot understand why more wasn't done to prevent something like this from happening. A major bridge like this in a large U.S. city just suddenly collapses in a matter of moments. As early as 1990, this bridge was deemed as "structurally deficient," a term that's been used over and over again in the news since the bridge collapsed. Inspections of the bridge found there to be "fatigue cracks" in the trusses and structural steel of the bridge. But the Minnesota Department of Transportation never deemed the structure as being unsafe and continued to provide "preventive maintenance" of the structure. That's exactly what was occuring when the bridge collapsed; resurfacing of the bridge deck. In fact, they didn't plan on replacing the structure until at least 2020.
It will be interesting to see what the National Transportation and Safety Board finds as they investigate the cause of this incredible and tragic bridge collapse. It appears that one of the bridge's trusses gave way causing the entire structure to collapse. And what's bad about this bridge design is that when one section gives way, the entire structure collapses. The bridge was supported by two piers, both situated on the banks of the Mississippi River. That's a long section of bridge that's unsupported, which is where the truss system ties into all of this. It's supposed to withstand without having much support from piers. But either one of the fatigue cracks grew between August 1 and the last time the bridge was inspected or sections of the bridge were badly corroded and caused the failure. Some are saying the extreme weather conditions that occur in Minnesota could be to blame (the extreme heat in the summer to the extreme cold in winter) as well as the ongoing construction on the bridge at the time of the collapse. Whatever the case, this story will be one that many will not forget for a long time. And hopefully our country's crumbling infrastructure will begin to get much needed repairs in the wake of this tragedy. It's too bad something like this had to happen before our elected officials got the wake-up call.
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