Re: Any comments on Minneapolis Bridge collapse?

"Damon Hill" <damon1SIX1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Xns9981D3C1FF386damon161attbicom@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Paul Hovnanian P.E." <paulh@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
news:46B36C08.AE95E9CD@xxxxxxxxxx:

Damon Hill wrote:

Eeyore <rabbitsfriendsandrelations@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
news:46B2DF44.3DC47CFC@xxxxxxxxxxx:



Tony Williams wrote:

Richard Henry <pomerado@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

From watching the security camera video, looking at photos of the
aftermath debris, and reading the UofM report on their 2001
inspection, I owuld theorize that one of the south-side approach
sections collapsed, pulling the central steel-arch sections off
its supports (one end was pinned, the other supported on
rollers), followed by slow collapse of the remaining
now-overstressed sections.

Might be worth looking at the train that was passing
at the time. Vibration from it, or maybe it even
clipped something.

Are you serious ?

'Twas the train that got clipped; downright crushed, in fact.

The fact that there was a train directly underneath the bridge (near a
support) at just that moment is suspicious.


Not particularly; the track is now an industrial siding and it appears
the train was parked, not moving. There's no sign of a derailment.

It will be interesting to see if the chain of events leading to the
bridge collapse can be fully documented and described. We'll probably
see it on the Discovery Channel.

--Damon

Of course, everybody has an opinion and theory, so I'll submit mine. I haven't
followed this thread completely, but haven't seen anybody comment about this.
Hopefully, I won't get flamed too badly if somebody has already presented this
aspect.
My theory is that the bridge, although "structurally deficient", it would have
lasted for a long time to come, were it not for the river current at the base of
the bridge supports. Scouring of the riverbed at the base of the supporting
structures is always a point of suspicion in events such as these. My theory is
that the current scoured away the riverbed, allowing the bridge supports to
shift out of position, and caused the main span to drop off the supports. Of
course, that event triggered a chain reaction, causing the entire bridge to come
apart.

Concurrence? Opposition?
Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

--
Dave M
MasonDG44 at comcast dot net (Just substitute the appropriate characters in the
address)

"In theory, there isn't any difference between theory and practice. In
practice, there is." - Yogi Berra


.

Quantcast