OMFG............breaking news

[Jimx29]

Just a little while ago during the peak of rush hour in downtown Minneapolis, bumper to bumper traffic on 35W and the bridge collapses 50+ feet into the Mississippi river.....


50-70 vehicles involved, most in the river....

There's live coverage here on the local stations

http://www.kare11.com/

http://kstp.com/

http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/

[Freak Out]

I just heard it....

[Kiwon]

Wow! An unbelievable nightmare.

[HarveyWallbangers]

http://www.startribune.com/scripts/setpass.php?goto=http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1338294.html

A woman driving on the bridge at the time said she just made it to the other side as the bridge collapsed. She had to gun it. She said she saw workers with a jackhammer on the bridge at the time. It's an old bridge. I think it was just after rush hour. Reports are saying 20-30 cars were on the bridge. In a normal rush hour, you'd see more cars than that. Could be wrong, but those are the numbers they are reporting on the Star Tribune website.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Just realized the Twins are playing at home tonight, so I'd imagine there's many more than 20-30 cars on that bridge. These early reports I've been reading have to be off.

[Joemailman]

Harv,

CNN just reported that there were 50-100 cars on the bridge, and that 50 were in the river. If that's true, there are going to be a lot more deaths.

[BallHawk]

6 reported dead, as of now. Obviously, that death toll will rise. Let's hope it's not too steep of an increase.

But, man, what a tragedy. It sounds like the construction played a roll in the collapse. Can't be too sure, though.

[GBRulz]

That is so sad what happened. They said the bridge was built in 1967 and was inspected in 2005 & 2006 and said there were very minor repairs that needed to be done on it, but as far as being replaced, it would be structurally sound through at least 2020.

You wonder if the heat had something to do with the concrete buckling or something? I know a couple years ago when it got really hot here, parts of I-43 split and cracked, leaving big holes.

[oregonpackfan]

This hits home to me. My family in Rice Lake used that bridge on 35W over the Mississippi River countless times on our way to and from the Twin Cities Airport.

Those unfortunate souls(including a school bus full of kids) just happened to be traveling at the wrong time when the collapse occured.

[MJZiggy]

At least it's reported that the kids are safe...But WOW!! Just so tragic...

[Joemailman]

Photos

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/01/bridge.collapse/index.html#cnnSTCPhoto

[superfan]

Obviously horrible for anyone involved with this disaster.

The longer term ramifications cannot be understated, either. This is one of the major arteries for the metropolitan area.

They say anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 vehicles cross that bridge daily. There are a lot of individuals going to bed tonight simply thankful to be alive.

[HarveyWallbangers]

That is so sad what happened. They said the bridge was built in 1967 and was inspected in 2005 & 2006 and said there were very minor repairs that needed to be done on it, but as far as being replaced, it would be structurally sound through at least 2020.

You wonder if the heat had something to do with the concrete buckling or something? I know a couple years ago when it got really hot here, parts of I-43 split and cracked, leaving big holes.

Could be. I know the construction workers are taking some heat right now. My Dad, who is in the civil engineering field, said he doubts that would have been the primary reason for the collapse. Maybe it was the heat. He wonders if a barge had hit the bridge recently. Who knows. I guess it depends on just how much construction was going on.

[Joemailman]

One of the CNN reporters were saying that there is a dam near the area. He said in recent years there have been a number of bridge collapses near dams because the moving water creates erosion around the bridge pilings. Does the water move fast there due to a dam?

[HarveyWallbangers]

One of the CNN reporters were saying that there is a dam near the area. He said in recent years there have been a number of bridge collapses near dams because the moving water creates erosion around the bridge pilings. Does the water move fast there due to a dam?

I don't know how fast by the damn, but as you can imagine the Mississippi River moves pretty fast.