Massive Bridge Collapses in Minneapolis

[Adam Gamradt]

Wow.

Here is actual video of the collapse.

Looks like it failed on the north side first.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/200 ... videosview

[sohotrightnow]

Everyone is missing my point. I am not saying that it wasn't terrorism. I am saying is that if it wasn't terrorism, then why even bring it up?

[Adam Gamradt]

Because after Sept. 11th, some people presume sinister actions are most likely responsible for any tragedy.

It is clear that you find this odd, and Sonny finds this reasonable.

[Brent Burns]

Just learned of this link from another website:

http://www.visi.com/~jweeks/bridges/pages/ms16.html

[Sonny]

Because after Sept. 11th, some people presume sinister actions are most likely responsible for any tragedy.

It is clear that you find this odd, and Sonny finds this reasonable.

I don't find terrorism as "most likely" the cause of this tragedy. I consider it a possibility.

How any private citizen could speak with any degree of authority on this topic, mere hours after it happened, is illogical in my book.

[Adam G]

Everyone is missing my point. I am not saying that it wasn't terrorism. I am saying is that if it wasn't terrorism, then why even bring it up?

Well, I'm not saying it was the resurfacing taking place on the bridge that is to blame, but if it isn't, then why bring it up?

Because it is high profile news. Reporting the news and answering the questions of the public is a journalist's responsibility, and that is what they are doing.

[Adam Gamradt]

Sonny,

I was speaking to why the journalists and government officials would mention it, and not saying that you were arguing that is was a likely cause.

The mention of terrorism is simply an interesting observation of how our culture has changed.

[TexOle]

Unfortunately after 9/11 we are always considering terrorism. That being said we know this was not terrorism. It is time to end the discussion on terrorimsm and focus on what can be done to help those affected.

That being said I think the best point was made by either Gov. Pawlenty or Mayor Rybak in every car you see has a story. Hopefully we can learn from this collapse in Minneapolis to prevent a future collapse.

[Pinball]

best story i have read about it.

http://www.startribune.com/10204/story/1339766.html

[Adam Gamradt]

Recovery efforts have been suspended for the day.

I believe it is due to the instability around the area. That is a fast moving section of the river, although the COE have lowered the water level by two feet.

There are stories circulating about people trapped who were able to contact help, but were unable to be saved. Some of these people were able to get messages to loved ones.

A friends coworker is among the missing, and presumed to be lost. He worked downtown and did not come home last night. He is presumed to have been on the bridge when it went down.

How very sad.

[UofMLaxGoalie11]

Recovery efforts have been suspended for the day.

I believe it is due to the instability around the area. That is a fast moving section of the river, although the COE have lowered the water level by two feet.

As an avid SCUBA diver (I was teaching kids how to SCUBA dive earlier today at the U), I can completely understand the precautions. The debris must be causing swirling currents and increasing the waters speed where it can make its way through the mess. Ive been in water with similar visibility and it is miserable. I could not imagine trying to look for something while being tossed around near sheared metal and twisted rebar. That sounds life threatening. One of the first things you do when you approach an accident site is assess the situation. That includes making sure that no hazards exist that could injure you. No need to add another casualty to this already horrible situation.

[Zeuslax]

Saw the section that collapsed last night. As with anything the pictures don't do it justice. The span is fairly long and wide. Also, the ammount of bridge over land was pretty significant. As for traffic flow and the impact, thank goodness for the bridge parallel huh? I was still surprised to see how narrow the river is at that point. Especially, knowing now how deep that section of the river is.