35W Bridge in Minneapolis collapses

I just hope not very many have been injured or killed in this tragedy.

They are reporting 3 fatalities but Paula Zahn just said she had authority from a police officer on the scene that he saw at least 7 dead. Most thrown from their vehicles lying on the river bank, etc. I live in a suburb close by and this is just astounding.

This is really shocking -- horrible. I am glad you are ok ... it sounds like many injuries and deaths are going be a result of this.

I read in another article that there was recent construction on this bridge -- does anyone know the nature of this work? So scary.

I live in Mpls. They say on the radio that traffic is at a crises in the whole area (it was a major city AND major river bridge). DON'T drive to it to have a look-see.

Future Mpls baseball games are even being cancelled now.

Twin Citeans are supposed to keep phone lines open in case of emergency. Cell phone service is overloaded and it's almost impossible to get through.

My thoughts are with all of you there.

According to Minnesota Public Radio and MN/DOT the bridge repair was resurfacing and repair to the deicing system on the bridge surface. It was not a major repair or anything that could have caused the bridge to collapse. They've also said that Homeland Security has ruled out terrorism at this point so as MPR has been saying all night "It leaves the question of, 'why does a bridge just collapse?'"

Today was such a hot day, I'm sure that had something to do with it. I know the bridge has survived hotter days when it wasn't under construction, but in a partial state due to maintence. . . I am anxious to hear the reports on the failure. I'm grateful that some of the lanes were closed to reduce the potential number of deaths. My heart goes out to all in the twin cities, especially those involved.

This is really terrible, I had Fox News on with the news broke in, I can't imagine how frightening this is for those that were around the area.

Why haven't we seen footage from the highway traffic cameras?

We're updating as fast as we can: MPR.org, and if you can help inform the news coverage please contact MPR.

I sincerely hope that everyone comes out of this unharmed. I've heard so far that there was 1 confirmed death, and there will probably be several more. Lets hope that number is less than what we expect. Second, lets not rush to speculation and assumptions on the cause of the collapse. Wait to hear the facts. Do not start rumors based on assumptions. Everyone try to stay off your cell phones so others that really need it can get through. Hopefully no one is at fault for this incident. It would be a terrible burden to carry. A
lso, Kare11 is doing a very good job of covering this terrible and unfortunate incident. Fox is dissapointing. Thank you in advance to all those who helped at the scene. The world is a better place with you in it.

Driving to the office I saw St. Paul police officers (and officers in unmarked cars) crossing the Lake Street bridge into Minneapolis, lights blazing. I hate to speculate but they may be on the move to provide support.

My heart breaks for the Twin City community. I had the pleasure of living in the Twin Cities and fell in love with the great city. I am stunned watching the news tonight and worry about the great friends I made while I was there. God Bless.

It's pretty scary. I was listening to MPR shortly after it happened when they broke into programming to announce that TV stations were reporting a bridge collapse.

I've so far had phone calls from family and friends in Colorado and Virginia to make sure we're okay. I also got an e-mail from a friend in the area confirming that she and her spouse are okay and checking in with everyone else.

My brother lives in Hastings and is in the process of moving this week...just sold his house as a part of his divorce settlement. We can't locate him. I've called HCMC and they are asking family to call back in about an hour as they are still cataloging the injured and do not yet have a complete list of victims brought in. Please pray

Angi and all - I've heard the Holiday Inn @ the Metrodome has been set up as a meeting ground for families looking for info. (via Lileks on buzz.mn)

I also have to say that I have 100% confidence in our emergency responders and emergency preparedness to deal with this tragedy. Despite the tragedy I am proud to say I live in Minnesota and am completely confident that our community is ready and able to respond to a catastrophe of this magnitude.

And I just received an email with a link to some photos on flickr - the scene drew a crowd.

M.K., when I was on the River Road trying to get information and images the officers were efficient, despite the crowds and traffic.

The media advisory from the City of Minneapolis:

"Families concerned about relatives should call the Red Cross at (612) 871-7676. Callers can leave a message and someone will get back to them soon."

Was this in any way due to the state government's stinginess with highway maintenence funds in recent years?

Just a note: As far as I know, the Post Tarts (most of whom reside in MPLS or St. Paul) are all fine.

I've always had a phobia about bridges over water, and have crossed that span thousands of times [shiver].

Well Steve W, I'm certain there will be discussion on the net about the entire situation and maintenance / money will come up.

Glad you checked in okay, Auntie. Hoping everyone else raises their hand soon, too.

My thoughts are with all of you in the area and the relatives of the dead and injured........terrible, terrible pics on our local news this evening.

What strikes me so much is that this bridge is used so frequently...I know so many family members and friends who use this bridge daily or more and I myself use it nearly every day too. Just a horrible, odd, cruel twist of fate that it happened during rush hour, before a Twins game and with bumper to bumper traffic.

Unbelievable. My mother, grandma, sisters, and other relatives live nearby. They were fine, thank the Lord! But death slinks by again and leaves a whisper of a scent behind. I attend school in Mpls. and my husband works there. We are terrified to find out who might be a victim. I cannot get a hold of one friend of mine, but am hoping that she was out and about, either that or too exhausted from work and opted to stay in. It's like taking roll, and no one understands anything. The heroic spirit of MN is alive today. Injured pulling children out, pedestrians and residents jumping in, people lining up to give blood. There is no reason and no amount of speculation will provide it. Witness accounts vary, but my feeling is this...the bridge was built in 1967 and back then people did not account for increasing weights and sizes in vehicles, nor did they account for the population growth and an increase in traffic across the bridge. This bridge was built with the capability of expanding and contracting in extreme weather conditions, and the repair work occurring was surface, taking place on the deck of the bridge (repairing routine wear and tear and repairing guardrails). On the surface it would seem this would have little to do with it...but nothing can be ruled out. Just terrifying to think that something so routine can turn so tragic. Please take a quiet moment to pray for those suffering and lost, for those wondering, suspended in their own hell, and for the survivors who are drained yet must keep pushing along. Be thankful for the day and hold your loved ones a moment longer. I spent the night holding each of my four children and telling them that they were so very important. I spent the night calling people I loved so they would know, then guiltily felt I should do this everyday and not just when there is inexplicable tragedy. Puts life in perspective. BTW, the Red Cross needs blood even though there are volunteers. They still need more. If you are in the area, please donate. God bless.

Glad you and yours are safe, people. Please check in.

Midmorning 08/02/2007 will have more on air coverage today.

You mentioned the Twin Cities Red Cross Hilary, so here's the link.

The death toll is four at this point according to the Associated Press as quoted by Police Lt. Amelia Huffman in Minneapolis.

Jeanne Aamodt of the Minnesota Department of Transportation said that the bridge was rated as "structurally deficient" according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Bridge Inventory database. The rating was given two years ago when the bridge was reported as possibly being in need of replacement.

Senator Norm Coleman said "This is a tragic day for the state, and we must first focus on rescue and recovery. The people of Minnesota should know we will devote the full resources of the government in any way possible. The Secretary of Transportation assured me that a thorough and complete forensic investigation will be conducted, which I hope will produce a definitive answer as to why this unbelievable disaster has occurred."

Also expressing sympathy and concern was Senator Amy Klobuchar who said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the many people affected by this evening's shocking bridge collapse. Most importantly, we are grateful to the many first responders who have moved so quickly to help the victims of this unfortunate accident. On behalf of the entire Minnesota delegation, we are committed to working together to bring all available federal resources to bear in the wake of this tragedy."

oh, julia, this is so awful. i've driven that bridge thousands of times. i am still trying to contact my friends in the cities, and am checking here on gather, too, for our gather friends. crazy.

This is so tragic. Angels be with all affected. Blessings,

Thank you for sharing those quotes, Diana - I appreciate it.

Hang in there, jessie and please let us know if your buddies are okay.

Mary - thank you.

I take West River Road home and went under the bridge at 5:30.

I guess I'll need to find a new route home.

Thanks you for hosting the conversation.

E-Democracy.Org has put up a wiki where people can collect links. We've been digging through Flickr and YouTube for citizen generated content:
http://pages.e-democracy.org/35W

Steven Clift

Hi all~
we're okay... I left work at 5:55 from St Paul last night and was crossing the I94 bridge over the Mississippi about the same time that the 35W bridge collapsed... you can see (well, saw) that bridge clearly off to the right... crazy stuff.

This morning the doors were wide open at a church across the street from my work...Thinking about going over there and lighting a candle for those families that had loved ones hurt or killed or don't know if their safe.

Its terribly surreal here; I mean you never think that something like this will happen in Mpls, maybe Louisiana, or somewhere in the south, we just assume since MN has so many regulations and safety laws that a MAJOR BRIDGE ACROSS THE LARGEST RIVER IN THE US WOULDNT JUST... COLLAPSE! *poof*...

It'll be interesting to see how Pawlenty qualifies the discrepancies between what he said last night (no structural problems according to the reports MNDOT did in 2006) and what is surfacing now, that yes indeed problems had been noted by the federal dept of transportation. I believe the phrase they used was "structurally deficient." Ugh.

Sounds like it, Gary. Glad you weren't delayed yesterday.

Thanks for joining Gather Steven.

Alison, you're right, it is terribly surreal here.

It's appalling. I too find it hard to believe that a bridge that size would collapse. I'm sure metallurgists and civil engineers are swarming over the site right now.

There's footage of the bridge collapsing on CNN. It was filmed by a surveillance camera on the North side of the bridge. Pretty scary stuff!

http://www.cnn.com/video/

Sadly, we'll probably be on "Modern Marvels: Engineering Disasters" on the History Channel within a year.

I'm disquieted by the number and humanity of the stories and images coming in.

-julia

Does anybody know what kind of infrastructure repair was in the Transportation Bill the Governor vetoed this spring? And aren't we way behind on other funding of infrastructure over the last several years--back since Pawlenty et al presented that bizarre budget to Gov. Ventura? In other words, is this really a result of his "No New Taxes" mantra?

There is a lot a incindiary comments on your web site that basically blame the governor and the republicans for the collapse of the bridge. They state that because Pawlenty vetoed the gas tax the bridge wasn't maintained and thus collapsed. I even heard a pointed question by a reporter on Morning Edition at about 7:15 about the same thing. Basically he asked the person he was interviewing if T-Paws veto had anything to do wih this. This is UNACCEPTABLE. You pose as a fair and balanced PUBLIC radio station. When you allow such commentary on your website and questions like these you make your station an untrustworthy unreliable observer. There are bodies still in the river. Show some respect!!!

I heard from my brother!!! I pray for others who are still wondering and going through that endless wait. My brother was able to call me two hours ago

I've been hearing and reading for years and years about how infrastructure all across America is increasingly in disrepair. Politicians of all stripes have ignored it for decades. Why? Because it's not glamorous. Much better to have your name attached to a big NEW project than repairing and maintaining old things, or else don't do anything and take credit for lower taxes. And we voters have let them get away with such nonsense for to long.

The veto is critically important. What infrastructure will now fail because of Pawlenty's veto? He can talk all day about how the bills he vetoed wouldn't have made a difference, but what is going to fail next because of his veto?

That is the question we should be asking...

And if I hear him say that the term "structurally deficient" doesn't mean a bridge isn't safe, I am going to scream. Hey, McFly, this bridge was deemed structurally deficient and look what happened. I don't care if there are different degrees, this bridge failed -- what structurally deficient bridge is next?

He's been the governor for five years now. He is the leader of government. The Minnesota government failed us. You can only pass the buck so far, Mr. Pawlenty. I want answers...what structure is next in your state?

This does nothing for his national-politics future. Perhaps he will focus on bringing Minnesota values back to the Governor's office instead of trying to look good for GOP leaders in Washington, D.C.

Take this as a wake-up call, Mr. Pawlenty. This happened on YOUR watch.

ew orleans is at the south end- the king of the south

Is there a reason that MPR coverage this morning (Wed 8/3) is differing from Star Tribune coverage?

I heard on MPR that four remains had been recovered, when a fifth has been recovered. I also heard the 20-30 people missing stat, when that number has been updated last night to 8.

Does MPR have better stats than the Strib, or... ?

See, it's 7:21 and I've just heard on MPR again that up to 30 are missing, and other outlets are reporting that authorities have narrowed that number to 8. What the...? Does MPR have better sources than other outlets, or is coverage lagging a little...?

Slow progress on recovery is reported due to the dangers of the river and debris in the river. Does anybody really expect this danger and debris to change? Won't this be a continuously ongoing problem? Why hasn't Bush called in Navy Seals to help?
sharon

According to the article I read in the paper this AM "structurally deficient" is a badly worded term. Hundreds of bridges all over the country are rated SD. It's used to describe a bridge that's in need of maintenance and some minor repairs.

I'm sure the term was coined by an engineer.

Uhhh, who cares what the term means. This bridge was labeled "structurally deficient" and look what happened. It appears this bridge needed more than "minor repairs."

So, at least five people died because of bad wording?

Seems like you care about the meaning of the term. Let it go.

Obviously there was something else wrong that either the inspectors missed or developed after the last inspection. Nobody died because the technical term sounds like it means something else. The bridge failed because there was something wrong beside the things the inspection caught.

I've known several people who made their living in part as expert witnesses in lawsuits involving metallurgical failures. It's an interesting job that requires a lot of experience. There's no doubt that there's an investigation going on right now. We'll find out what happened.

Sadly, we'll probably be on "Modern Marvels: Engineering Disasters" on the History Channel within a year.

Probably more like "within a month".

I'm interested to find out whether the construction activity, which was not structural in nature, contributed to the disaster. There was an awful lot of heavy equipment, trucks, gravel, concrete, etc. piled up there. Perhaps the added weight exacerbated the weakening structure. On the other hand, the construction may well have saved lives because two lanes were closed in each direction (the bridge holds 8 lanes). There would have been a whole lot more cars on it had the lanes not been closed and traffic moving at a snail's pace.