OT: Bridge collapse

This has what to do with a bridge?

Jeff

My guess: some of the $$$ being spent on the Iraq war, being spent on the crumbling infrastructure at home. Besides upgrading our roads & bridges, there are plenty of ways we could otherwise be spending some of that money, here at home.

Cathy

I'm guessing corruption among construction companies and inspectors.

Just my take.

I keep thinking how we could spend that money on effective education for our people.

However, the bridge was already under reconstruction when it collapsed.

Jeff

Oh, yes - that's one of the ways it could be used.

So far I've been hearing it was simply being resurfaced; IOW, not structural stuff. Time will tell more.

Cathy

federal spending on infrastructure is more than it was under the Clinton administration...

secondly the bridge has passed all of its inspections...

if the inspection company did not report a problem then it would not have been fixed with federal dollars..

maybe you should stop knee jerk reactions into thinking infrastructure funding is lower just because were spending heavily to free people?

Dont be a loving enabler.

They were only doing surface repairs. The reconstruction was not to begin until, I believe 2020. I've been over that bridge hundreds of times if not a couple thousand in the past 35 years, but not yesterday. It is about 2000 feet long, and eight lanes total. They use a lot of chemicals in the winter due to black ice. Cars travel very fast over it. Nobody knows what caused it to fall. Lots of guesses but until the NTSB completes the investigation months from now it is just speculation.

I wasn't meaning to be cryptic, but it shows how different we think about things. This says it better, How Iraq Trillion Could Have Been Spent

People also forget that the military is being funded regardless of the Iraq war or not. That is not factored out of the cost. The ridiculousness is that we are spending more on our roads than ever and states are spending more than ever.

Regardless of the cost, the bridge has been inspected. If the inspectors failed to mention something then they need to be put at fault.

Furthermore, roads should not be funded by the federal government. They should be funded by the state and only the state.

Everybody is crazy to think out side of military funding that this money (being used in excess on the Iraq war) would be used elsewhere. It would not be used elsewhere...

The ABC article is a joke. The simple fact is if we were not at war then the upperclass would claim that there was no reason to raise taxes and no one would pressure them to.. and if they did then they would lay off workers to make up the difference...

Are you following me? Raising taxes is going to be disasterous for the next administration and its most likely going to be a democratic administration.

All built on these knee jerk reactions that the world is falling apart, the republicans have screwed us over, the hidden fact that the cost of military is included in the trillion package, the fact that oil will sky rocket anyway... oh yeah.. up shit creek without a paddle is the next administration..

You think its bad now? Wait til a liberal gets in office... Kiss your job good bye!

Whatever, amazes me why the people in this group purchase a Toyota because it's perceived as a good value, then buy into the military industrial complex line.

For sure.

The Iraq war has nothing to do with bridge collapses in Minnesota, how ridiculous to mention it, but I guess I'm not surprised that someone would.

I just heard on the TV that estimate cost of replacing this structure could be more than the entire budget of the Mn state DOT for one year. Because it's part of the interstate system the fed will have to cough up some serious dough to keep the system going. I'd expect the bridge to be replaced within 2 or 3 years.

Quite frankly, I wouldn't replace it until I found out why the previous bridge failed. Something was seriously wrong with that bridge for it to fail that spectacularly. Minnesota now has it's own Galloping Gertie?

As usual we'll have government officials throwing good money after bad, probably. Probably too much sand in the cement again.

Charles of Schaumburg

You think that if we were not at war, congress would allocate the same trillion to the military to do other things with?

Isn't the war in Iraq about stopping terrorists so they can't bring their evil deeds to our country, and maybe do something to cause something like a major bridge to collapse? While over there fighting for truth justice and the American way it would appear we are neglecting our own infrastructure.

In message news:CDbsi.18842$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe22.lga, Moe sprach forth the following:

The bridge was inspected in 2005. AND in 2006. Think those inspectors will be in any way held liable? Of course not - they work for the Mafia - er - the government.

It's a sound design. It's been there for 40 years. I suspect (guessing) a failure of metal parts due to salt corrosion, age and aggravated by a large heavy static (cars and trucks just sitting or creeping along on the bridge) load due to rush hour delay and construction. Then, vibration from jackhammers finally started the process.

And a little more heat stress than normal. All taken together... crack.

It had recently been inspected and was thought good for another 20 years (Sen. Coleman on TV). I'd guess that there are some flaws that are difficult to see.

The DOT has a good track record for not screwing around where there's thought to be a hazard. dbu might recall Twin Cities history of the last twenty or so years and agree with me. dbu may recall that the I-94 bridge over the St. Croix was found to be in rough shape back around 1986/7 or so and was replaced in the blink of an eye (relatively speaking) with the new six-lane bridge structure. They found the money and got the job done. dbu may also recall that the replacement bridge was found to require serious repairs within its first decade of life and that got handled very promptly, too.

I agree that we're neglecting infrastructure but this probably isn't an example of unchecked deterioriation that could have been corrected if only someone would spend the money. Our problems tend to be more like the transportation situation across the Northern part of the Twin Cities, which was a big part of the District 6 Congressional debates in '06, with Bachmann calling for more money and concrete RIGHT NOW. Or the Wakota bridge situation, where traffic backed up for years before a new bridge was finally first in line for money and got started.

Yep

NTSB report should be interesting. I watched them inspect the I-35W bridge over the Minnesota. It took a couple days. They have a special boom truck that places the inspector under the bridge up close to the structure. They inch along very slow.