Our bridge collapsed.

[octagon]

In Minneapolis.This is a major bridge.I hope all the forum members in the area are ok.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x-ckRu5jEY

[jingle_jangle]

I lived three blocks from that bridge in 1971, on Fourth Street...(the same Fourth Street that Dylan wrote about during his own Dinkytown Days...). Have often passed over it. The things we take for granted in modern life; makes me shudder.

[lars]

This was the number 1 news in Norway this evening.

How could it happen? I feel for all involved.

[phlemmy]

I am glad I wasn't in charge of the bridge inspections for MnDOT.

[j_gary]

Unbelievable, seems our infrastructure is falling apart these days. I would take a hard look at the lowest bid process running government projects.

Good luck Minneapolis.

[wayang]

Time for some of that giant pile of 'reconstruction' money to come back home...

How'd you like to be in charge of bridge inspections right now for Anywhere, USA?

[brammy]

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1ab_1186054443&p=1

This should never have happened, but the bridge was built and maintained by humans and humans are fallible. One thing for sure is that the pros WILL, in the coming weeks, find out exactly why this tragedy happened.

Speaking of infrastructure, the 19th century bridges in NYC could use a little help, thats for sure.

[jimk]

It's the No. 1 story all over the place, Lars. Sad, very, very sad.


JimK

[eatswodo]

OK here - safely at home in southwest Minneapolis suburbia when it happened. I've driven that stretch of freeway more times than I can remember in the 13 years I've been here in the Twin Cities.

Watching the footage last night gave me chills. Flashbacks to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and seeing the Nimitz freeway collapse, and the Bay Bridge also - but here there was no earthquake.

Another thing that gave me chills, but of a better kind, was the shots of a rescue worker last night, in the river, diving into cars, looking for survivors, in the middle of all that debris, with just a lifejacket and a yellow rope tied around her waist for security.

God bless you and your brave colleagues, whoever you are. Pray for those families to whom the full impact of the tragedy is yet to come, as the recovery continues.

[sloop_john_b]

Kent - the Brooklyn Bridge is doing fine and there is currently work being done on the Manhattan Bridge, a project that will close the lower level for the next year or more.

The Williamsburg, 59th St., and Kosciuszko could use some work though!

[eatswodo]

Here's an article about the first responders, including the woman I referred to in my last post.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/02/bridge.responders/index.html

[alexrocks]

I went down to see it with my own eyes today. Completely surreal. That stretch of road is so busy that everyone I've talked to has made a remark like "I was just on that the other day". The construction workers who were just walking on the bridge... only one is missing. That is incredible.

[johnallg]

What amazes me about this, with the magnitude of the damage and the amount of rush hour traffic, that the loss of life was not a LOT higher than it is.

[atomic_punk]

They were saying on the news today that Flip Saunders, head coach of the Pistons, was heading toward the bridge at the time with his daughter following along behind him. Construction on the ramp slowed him down and did not get to it, he heard it collapsing and called 911.

I have a lot of family and friends in Minneapolis, glad (for me) that all of them are OK, hoping for the best for all affected.

[brammy]

John... glad to hear that the NYC bridges are being worked on. I gotta admit that I'm completely out of touch when it comes to NYC. I lived there for the first 24 years of my life but pulled my own version of 'Escape From New York' in 1978.

Wow... THAT was one BAD movie. Does anyone remember the SNL skit 'Escape From Escape From New York'?