Minneapolis Bridge Collapse

[Goon]

All well here. This is really sad my family has been watching coverage all night. I have a friend that lives right there and we had a hard time reaching him, but happy to report that he is fine.

My sister send me an email last night and was all worried about my brother, I said no I talked to him. Then I got to thinking this is a major deal, rush hour traffic, twins game going on at the dome. My brothers business actually was calling everyone that they work with to make sure everyone is ok.

Kind of reminded me to the WTC on 9-11.

[Handsome Rob]

Here's a link to a secruity camera's footage of the collapse:

I35W Collapse

[Ranger]

You're comparing apples to oranges. That baseball stadium will bring revenue back into Hennipen County and the State of MN, and is an entertainment venue that people have deemed important to the MPLS ecomony. Funding bridges and road costs is a fundamental gov't budget issue. We pay taxes to cover these costs. If we have a surplus, we obviously have extra money to go towards these costs. Education is no different. We are cutting education funds and programs left and right. This is a budget shortfall, plain and simple. Maybe we should worry about the infrastructure of America before we dump all the money on the infrastructure of Iraq.

umm, right, einstein. you are associating the bush administration and the war in iraq/against terrorism with the bridge collapse. Political officials at all levels set priorities with the limited tax revenue they receive. the mn legislature has failed miserably with this task. infrastructure maintenance is the immediate responsibility of the state and locals, not the federal government. it's quite simple, the elected officials chose to fund other projects/priorities (education, in fact, was first on their list), and now it has bitten them in the ass. as for the twinkies new palace, the taxpayers of hennepin county got screwed on this deal, plain and simple (if the tax increase would have been put to popular vote--like state law mandated--it would have been soundly rejected; polled hennepin voters identified more important priorities--infrastructure was near the top). what about the millions hennepin country is spending putting into infrastructure for access to the new venue? are the zillions in revenue (as you suggest will be pouring in) be earmarked for infrastructure improvements for the immediate/secondary areas (let me answer that for you... no). after all, the fans will put a burden on the roadways getting to the games. Again, priorities. blame bush all you want... but it's misplaced anger.

[Ranger]

Here's a link to a secruity camera's footage of the collapse:

I35W Collapse

this is from the Corps of Engineer camera at the lock. it is activated by motion sensor, so the initial collapse was not captured.

[sioux7>5]

Speaking of spelling, "If you need me to spell it out 'simplier' I will, but I think an adult should be able to comprehend that. ....and "deision" as you put it are a couple of words you missed on. Now, away from hooked on phonics and back to the discussion. From coast to coast, there are deficient bridges across america. Do you actually think the reason for that is because all states lack qualified DOT members. Maybe if the proper funding was there, we'd have the appropriate people evaluating damage and they wouldn't have to push construction projects back until the year 2020. Please, splell it ouuut four me one moor timmme.

Sorry I typed to fast. But my point is the same. I still have to say what they hell is your point. One has nothing to do with the other. By the way, were you this outraged when a bridge collapsed on the Clintons watch. Or is that not the same thing. One more thing there is no need to be a complete and total ass.

[Snake]

Who here knows all the facts?

{silence}

That's what I thought.

It's funny how we're all so quick to place blame. I guess it's just a by product of the "age of (mis)information."

[sioux7>5]

Who here knows all the facts?

{silence}

That's what I thought.

It's funny how we're all so quick to place blame. I guess it's just a by product of the "age of (mis)information."

You are exactly right. That was my intial point. I just get so tired of the blame game. This could have just been an act of god and can not be explained.

But my thoughts and prayers are with the families of the missing and deceased. May God bless them all.

[ScottM]

and to think minneapolis and hennepin county residents will be putting $350M into a baseball stadium... priorities ladies and gentlemen.

I was going to say the same about the nearly $1 Trillion we're spending, or will spend, in Iraq. That's alot of roads, bridges and jobs here.

[MplsBison]

This bridge didn't fall down because of some natural disaster or horrifying accident. It fell because of neglect and incompetence by those in positions of leadership.

Hang on just a damn minute there, professor.

Why don't we just let the NTSB decide what happened before you start saying crap like this.

[sioux7>5]

Hang on just a damn minute there, professor.

Why don't we just let the NTSB decide what happened before you start saying crap like this.

Exactly. Let the experts do their jobs.

[Shawn-O]

Good editorial on the gouls whose first impulse is to politicize a tragedy.

Which reminds me, our "good friend" Nick Coleman weighed in on the subject yesterday.

http://www.startribune.com/357/story/1339911.html

[tnt]

I thought it was the dike system in this country with which the media was outraged. Oh yeah, this bridge is the new flavor of the month. Yes, this is tragic, but more people die from drunk drivers, yet we have multiple offenders remain on the road. There are plenty of places our money can go, and until we get the pork out of every congressman's vocabulary, we won't have any money to fix any of it, but to all of a sudden become outraged even though problems like this and the dike system have been a problem for a very long time is a bit convenient. Everyone becomes an expert after the fact. This smacks of the armchair quarterbacks, that are masters of hindsight.

[jimdahl]

If I may interrupt the "blame whatever politicians I don't like"-fest, here are the victims those politicians are using as pawns:

Victims in Minneapolis bridge collapse

Sherry Engebretsen, 60, of Shoreview, was the director of marketing at Thrivent Financial in downtown Minneapolis. She was headed home from the office on Tuesday, cruising in her classic Mercedes 280, when the bridge collapsed.

Patrick Holmes, 36, of Mounds View, starred as a pitcher at Winona State University in the early 1990s, leading the team deep into a national tournament and earning all-conference honors his senior year.

Artemio Trinidad-Mena, 29, lived in Minneapolis but was a Mexican citizen with a young family scattered across the two countries.

His widow, Abundia Martinez, told Radio Formula in a telephone interview that her husband was a vegetable salesman and that he was heading home at the time of the accident.

Julia Blackhawk, 32, of Savage, had two children — boys 8 and 9.

As busy as she was as a mother, she was also studying at the Aveda Institute, where she met her friend Liz Ewing.

[sioux7>5]

If I may interrupt the "blame whatever politicians I don't like"-fest, here are the victims those politicians are using as pawns:

Victims in Minneapolis bridge collapse

[The Sicatoka]

I had two people that matter to me cross that bridge at 5:45 pm.

[sioux7>5]

I had two people that matter to me cross that bridge at 5:45 pm.

They are safe I hope.

[The Sicatoka]

They are safe I hope.

They were forced to watch Juan Rincon pitch later that evening.

[Cratter]

Here's my strange/interesting story:

Around 6 o'clock that day I was stopped at a light on the overpass bridge that is directly above 35W (on University Ave SE) about a block North of the collapse. (You can see the bridge that collapsed if I looked out the right hand side)

I felt a slight vibration and some faint sounds (my radio was on). I turned the radio off and rolled down my window to see/listen what the noise/vibration was. I thought to myself "I hope this bridge doesn't collapse." But brushed it off because I thought "Bridges don't just collapse." Told myself it must have just been a strong gust of wind.

Light turned green and I drove away.

I am convinced if I turned onto 35W there (instead of going straight) I would have been on the bridge at that time or darn close.

[greenwinger_13]

I went to spend the weekend with my girlfriend and we decided to go take a look or see what we could... it's definetly a sobering experience and even though you really can't see too much its hard to imagine. There is pretty much no area you can even get close yet and it's just a horrible scene around there.. we happened to be just about leaving when i saw a flatbed with an escort of cops comin up from the river... it had a chrystler mini-van that was fresh out of the river... needless to say whoever was in that car is no longer with us.. that was also really sobering becuase it looked as if the whole bridge had fallen on that car alone.. its a horrible thing and i think anybody who thinks its cool to blame politcians or blame this guy or that guy can suck it becuase maybe you needed to know some one or something that was there beucase there is really no space for pointing fingers in this tradegy... and i don't care about my spelling either... my prayers to the 8 who are still missing...

[Cratter]

i think anybody who thinks its cool to blame politcians or blame this guy or that guy can suck it

Its definately not one persons fault. But our fault as a society and politicians and how we vote and how we live our lives.

I think people "blaming" and "finger pointing" is a genuine interest in seeing what went wrong and how we can correct it so it does not happen again. A good thing in my opinion.

Whether it be stricter "bridge replacement policies," more money for infrastructure, etc.

How many bridges are now closed because of this? And lifes possibly saved? A bridge just closed in Missouri within the past couple of days.

This ain't the first bridge collapse in this country and it certainly won't be the last.

A bridge on the New York State Thruway near Amsterdam, New York, gave way in April 1987, killing 10 people.

This could essentially be the beginning if nothing is done as this country is getting "older."

[johndahl]

The bridge as it was built in 1967 would never have been built today - engineering standards have changed significantly. It's odd to think we didn't have a solid understanding of how to build a very safe bridge until the 1970s, but research done then at Lehigh, I believe, forms the basis for most bridge design today.

I parked under that bridge every day for three years when I was in law school at the U of M, and always intentionally made sure I was under the bridge so my car wouldn't get snowy or wet and would be in the shade. It seemed like a good idea at the time...

[star2city]

NASA has had some notable failures that were largely attributed to a dysfunctional leadership and culture, and not to the engineers or scientists. One wonders how pervasive a dysfunctional culture is at the MNDOT, based on this letter:

My friend and colleague Diane Olson, Ph.D., was head of the employee assistance program at the Minnesota Department of Transportation (approximately 1999-2000) after being an independent psychologist and consultant for them for years.

Olson hated how the Human Resources Department of MNDOT was led. She told me of a dehumanized and dysfunctional management that abused people routinely. She so wanted the managers to see the impact their actions had on others. Olson, not outwardly emotional, cried as she told stories of how the executives hurt others in passive- aggressive and cowardly ways.

In 2003 the Minneapolis Star Tribune published a series of investigative articles about MNDOT that covered many years and reflected Diane

[DI IN FARGO]

What I think is a shame is that 22 million was spent on figuring out where to put bike paths. 22 million for bike paths? Give me a break. Now that 22 million may not have prevented this but it sure would have been a good start!

[Sioux-cia]

Bad as it is it could be worse!!

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20...killing_29.html