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I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis Collapses



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Fri Aug 03, 2007 1:36 am
Flemzo says...



Paul Levy of the Star Tribune wrote:Emergency crews have resumed their recovery and clean up efforts at the scene of the Interstate 35W bridge that collapsed during rush hour Wednesday evening.
Authorities lowered the number of confirmed fatalities to four, but said they expect the number to change throughout the day.

Doctors at Hennepin County Medical Center said at a news conference this morning that 79 people were injured in the disaster.

One of them died around midnight of blunt force trauma, consistent with chest injuries from falling 64 feet.

Fifty-five people were transported to area hospitals including 24 to HCMC. Six of those had life-threatening injuries, 10 were listed in satisfactory condition and eight were treated and released.

Twenty-four people made it to hospitals on their own.

Dr. John Hick, who was one of the first responders to the bridge collapse, said "It's somewhat of a miracle that (the number of injuries and fatalities) was that low."


Full story from the Star Tribune

Security camera footage of the bridge collapsing.

The death toll of four was down from a confirmed seven around midnight last night. The bridge collapsed around 6 PM on August 1st. Other news reports on TV have said that the bridge was inspected in 2005 and 2006, and no structural repairs were needed. They don't suspect foul play, but they aren't ruling it out either.

This news story interrupted the Minnesota Twins game on TV, and it's just unreal how such a young bridge (it's about 40 years old) could collapse so suddenly. Probably the scariest thing was that the bridge was having some cosmetic work done. All but one of the workers were accounted for, at last check.

Scary stuff. 100,00 cars travelled the I-35W bridge daily. It's an important road, and I was travelling on very recently.
  





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Fri Aug 03, 2007 1:51 am
Nate says...



It is very scary stuff. A lot of the transportation infrastructure in this country was built decades ago, and you need to maintain it. Unfortunately, the government somehow can't find the extra $15 billion a year that is necessary to repair & maintain our infrastructure, but can somehow find the money to study the reproductive strategies of Phayre’s Leaf Monkeys.

I am glad to hear though that the death toll is going down rather than up (btw, how does that happen???). All the bridges where I live are getting pretty old, and there's one in particular (where the Washington Beltway crosses the Potomac on the west side of DC) that always worries me. They're doing cosmetic work on it as well.
  





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Fri Aug 03, 2007 1:54 am
Flemzo says...



I have no idea how a death toll goes down. Maybe people they thought were dead were actually sleeping?

Either that or they probably recussitated(sp?) people at the hospital.
  








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