Can Another Minneapolis Happen Again?

[Ron]

What happened yesterday brought back to remembrance something that took place in Vancouver in Jan 2000.

The boom of a mobile crane transported on the barge T.L. Sharpe, towed by the Sea Cap XII, struck the underside of the Knight Street Bridge at 1345 local time, damaging the bridge and the fixtures secured underneath its deck. The force of the striking caused the boom to bend and the crane to slide off the barge and sink.





This bridge crosses the Fraser River. It is deep, deep enough for freighters carrying Japanese cars into Vancouver to pass under. It is also high.

The Bridge is a major artery into the city.
It was closed for two days after that accident.

It was deemed safe even though it had moved 1-2 inches off the horizontal.

It is a 6 lane bridge (3 lanes north, 3 lanes south) it connects Vancouver with Richmond.

I cross that bridge twice a day going to and from work.

There is a stream of concrete dividers that go all the way along the middle of the bridge dividing north & eastbound traffic.

Half of them are out of kilter with one another because of the accident.

Our bridges are starting to feel thier age.

Would you feel safe?

[Rico]

From what I am hearing, the disaster in Minneapolis was caused by a design flaw in the bridge. There are other bridges in the US with the same design, including some here in IN.

[CC1]

There are thousands of bridges in the USA that are old and rated as "deficit" in one or more ways.

Many of these bridges are more than 40 years old and at the end of their anticipated life span.