Apologies for wasting parky bandwidth but hope that y'all are unaffected by this tragedy ... CNN International is broadcasting the story live and for some reason it has really grabbed me tonight (well I wasn't getting to sleep anyway!!).

Looks a most peculiar situation - never heard of a bridge in use just falling down without provocation before!!

The collapse may have had something to do with the construction that has been going on adjacent to the bridge. As the days pass we will be informed and better understand how this horrible tragedy could have happened.

Similar to the under-construction overpass that collapsed today or yesterday onto a FedEx truck.

Brockie,

I'm curious ... since when does a "Londoner" use the word y'all???!!!! When we moved from Oklahoma to Texas I BANNED that word from my house. LOL The kids think it's hysterical!

Have a good one.

It is tragic...so very sad. Occurrences like this soon reach across the miles and everyone is "with" that country,that area,those families involved. My thoughts and prayers are with those, touched by this tragedy.
Steff

and stunned at the Minnesota bridge collapse. it just does not happen in a $13Trillion dollar economy. Riveted to the 24/7 Fox News Channel. What a tragedy for many individuals and you just gotta feel for those families who lost loved ones. The 60 kids on a bus who survived the free fall with the bus landing on all four wheels inches from a burning truck on one side and millimetres from falling into the Mississippi below on the other. WHAT A STORY THAT IS.

Still. a main arterial route in and out of the city taking 140,000 cars a day, collapses? it does not happen. Once the loss is accepted there's gonna be some serious questions on this one.

GO HARD....THE TWINS

Agree and there is something spooky about how quickly the world was to just not even consider terrorism.....after all of the warnings - something cataustrophic like no one has ever seen before is definitely structural from day 1?

What am I missing? JUST ALL OF THE FACTS, NOT SOME, BUT ALL....they aren't even good at deception - no better than designing and building bridges in fact.

No connection? oh ok you're sure now.....oh yeah not a chance.....wait a min....

paula

Howard, yes it has happened before! I doubt that anyone who was living in FL or is still in FL has forgotten March 9, 1980.

St. Petersburg FL...Sunshine Skyway collapses...after being struck by a freighter...harbor pilot charged in accident.

http://www.delmarvahighways.com/fl.htm

http://www.tampabays10.com/news/loca...?storyid=13882

http://www.tampabays10.com/news/loca...?storyid=13932

http://www.francesfarmersrevenge.com...ges/skyway.htm

http://www.jacksonville.com/apnews/s...D7JOKPM02.html

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/05/2...pse/index.html

Worst U.S. Bridge Disasters
http://kutv.com/homepage/topstories_...214075054.html

If it was a terrorist attack, then terrorists would be taking credit for it. If somebody wants to spread terror, it does them no good if everybody thinks it is due to aging infrastructure.

The scary thing to me is that we are just as vulnerable to our aging infrastructure as we are to terrorists, which is a horrible indictment on the priorities of our nation as a whole. It costs money, lots of money, to keep things maintained. And that means taxes or tolls. Somebody has to pay, it should be the users (all of us). I don't want to start a debate about whether the better steward of our roads would be public or private. Regardless of how the job gets done, it's expensive - and essential.

I, like Howard, was stunned - this does not happen in the USA. But it did, does (see Carolyn's list), and will again. The Seattle City Council has been arguing with the State of Washington for 6 years about how to replace a heavily trafficked (110,000 cars a day), elevated, double-decker highway through the heart of the city that was visibly damaged in the 2001 earthquake. It's an accident waiting to happen while the powers that be quibble over money.

There's no doubt that terrorism poses a threat; but the US faces other threats as well - and one is our aging interstate roadway system. Homeland security begins at home.

You are most likely correct Carey. I was thinking quite suspiciously that they could be covering it up that someone claimed it but we have way too many leaks in government and the media for such a coverup.

The Tampa Bay bridge was hit by a freighter - different scenario. But what does make a lot of sense is the fact that vehicles are so much heavier now than when the bridge was built.



Paula

According to our engineers in this area, the bridge was inspected in 2005 and did not pass the inspection. It was supposed to be replaced when funds became available. The metal was too stressed from the heavy trucks and traffic. The bridge was 40 years old. Since it was the main artery to the University of Minnesota, they just did patchwork on the surface of the bridge so as not to have to close it down. Terrorism was ruled out completely because witnesses to the event heard no popping or explosion and the spread of the debree did not indicate an explosion at the breaks.

Every thing is politics. Jim Oberstar, a DFL in charge of the federal transportation committee. accused the current administration for vetoing a transportation bill. The transportation bill included funding a mass transit system which the voters don't want.

Money is a limited resource and wise decisions must be made to spend it where it will do the most good.
Love,
Vicky