I think the bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis yesterday might be visible in this picture I took while landing at MSP about one year ago. It could be the structure visible to the left of the Metro Dome.
I might ask my Minnesotan friend Tony Collen, who probably still reads this blog. What do you say, Tony?
Either way, it’s scary to think that while you are merrily driving along, a bridge might collapse under your feet. Still, from a purely statistical point of view, we take way greater risks while driving every day, even without poorly built bridges.
Nope - wrong bridge. The Mississippi River goes across the upper center of this photograph, not the foreground.
This was a 40 year old bridge that while it had no obvious signs of fatigue, may well have unfortunately succumbed to failure due to a combination of circumstances.
Mark,
I was referring to the longitudinal structure visible behind and to the left of the Metro Dome, not the foreground. The picture was taken from SE looking roughly NW, from a position approximately above Lake of the Isles. In this map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=minneapolis,+mn&ie=UTF8&t=h&om=1&ll=44.967106,-93.27796&spn=0.034007,0.083084&z=14
it means from the center of the left side looking towards the upper right corner (roughly, because it depends on how wide and high you set your browser window).
“we take way greater risks while driving every day” - especially if you’re driving in Italy;-)
Hey Ugo,
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/7439/circledme8.jpg
The circled structure is the bridge that collapsed.
All is good here. I have a friend who commuted over the bridge 30 minutes prior to the collapse. Scary stuff, especially when the phones are down.
Tony, that’s indeed what I was referring to in my post. Thanks for confirming it, and for being alive
A couple of the latest thoughts on possible contributing circumstances include consideration of accumulated pigeon droppings and the inclusion of de-icer in the actual concrete portions of the structure. The resulting chemical combinations of these items, along with various weathering conditons could possibly
cause the steel and or the concrete to deterioate. I would love to have an invite from anyone.