Bridge Collapes What A Mess!

[Hellion]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070802/ap_on_...bridge_collapse

This makes me nervous when I have to travel over huge structures like this.

[Msterbeau]

Wow. Amazing that only 6 are dead. That's a huge span that collapsed and there are a ton of cars.

It'll be interesting to see what lead to the failure...

[Shade Everdark]

What a horror.

[Sybil]

Damn.

Paul says he drove that stretch before..

:(

[know_buddy_kares]

From what I saw on the news channel, there was one guy running a jack hammer....

...could you honest to god seriously imagine being that guy? True it may not be his fault but man...

talk about going into a panic attack, I'd have puked my heart out if I were him.

[Amerist]

It would be really twisted if that poor fellow with the jackhammer simply hit the resonance of the bridge and it shattered.

[know_buddy_kares]

It would be really twisted if that poor fellow with the jackhammer simply hit the resonance of the bridge and it shattered.

The news was talking how vibrations can be just as damaging to a structure as if you just punched a shitload of holes in it. So either way.. still man, that poor bastard with the jackhammer musta been sweating worse than a whore in church after he seen the bridge fall.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Honestly... They should prolly like.. put that guy on suicide watch. Guilt, justified or not, can do crazy things.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

You know.. I drive over 12 bridges on my way to work.. and 4 over passes.

[Reaper]

So far the count is 9 and others are missing. So its not over yet as I watched about this on the news this morning. From what was being said, nothing structurally was being done. They said the lanes were closed for guard rail replacement as well as resurfacing.

[Msterbeau]

You know.. I drive over 12 bridges on my way to work.. and 4 over passes.

I have to drive over the Kentucky and Ohio rivers plus the one in Toledo Friday... I'm thinking of having a way to turn my car into a submarine instead...

[Brenda Starrr]

That is absolutely horriffic. I don't like bridges to begin with. This not only saddens me, but makes me nervous.

[Hellion]

Here is the video as it happened

[Head Wreck]

wasnt the bridge deemed structually unsound in the 90's and that a replacement was still being looked into?

[Hellion]

These are some of the bridges in Michigan that will be looked at

I have been over atleast two of them.

Cut River bridge goes over a gorge that is almost 200 feet down.

http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story.aspx?...bc1&rss=785

[know_buddy_kares]

I know someone who's afraid of heights, they can't stand driving over bridges of any sort, and they gotta drive over two on the way to work, and the same two back...

...yeah.. I've been fuckin with him lol.

[Destroit]

I know someone who's afraid of heights, they can't stand driving over bridges of any sort, and they gotta drive over two on the way to work, and the same two back...

...yeah.. I've been fuckin with him lol.

Bwahaha you're fucking horrible man. I am NOT telling you any of my secret fears EVER

I guess for this whole bridge deal, accidents do happen. They shouldn't, yet do, and many times can be accredated to human error. Like for instance that one movie that came out "The Mothman Prophecy", if anyone remembers it, that bridge that collapsed on the Ohio river at the end of the movie actually DID in real life (the whole movie was supposedly based on a true story) and also had cars on it. I guess you never know when your number will be up and that's that. The bridge that collasped today was structurally unsound and had been for years, but instead of caring the government decided to take the money and throw it toward something else. What else is new?

[Shade Everdark]

Bwahaha you're fucking horrible man. I am NOT telling you any of my secret fears EVER

I guess for this whole bridge deal, accidents do happen. They shouldn't, yet do, and many times can be accredated to human error. Like for instance that one movie that came out "The Mothman Prophecy", if anyone remembers it, that bridge that collapsed on the Ohio river at the end of the movie actually DID in real life (the whole movie was supposedly based on a true story) and also had cars on it. I guess you never know when your number will be up and that's that. The bridge that collasped today was structurally unsound and had been for years, but instead of caring the government decided to take the money and throw it toward something else. What else is new?

There's an interesting dichotomy in the works here. Initial reports after the bridge fell say that inspectors gave the bridge whatever the rating is for being sound and stable. On the other hand, I heard today that there was a study conducted a few years back at the University of Minnesota that said the bridge was indeed unsafe. As both claims are, for me at least, little more than hearsay at the moment, I think it will be interesting, in a dismaying sort of way, to see how this whole thing plays out.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

If the bridge actually had been deemed unsafe and nothing was done about it.. it's not just the governemnts fault. We, the general populace, share just as much of the blame. Bridges are one of those things we just expect to work and throw fits if it has to be shut down for repairs. So repairs a pushed off until they cant wait any longer.. or in cases like this, until it's too late. The University of Minnesota may well hve done that report.. and most likely published it. Yet, nothing was done, why didn;t they push for it to get fixed? Why didn;t they throw a fit? Why didn;t the general populace throw a fit? It wasn;t because the bridge would have cost a large amount of cash to fix... it's because major repairs would mean shutting it down... driving an extra 10min to get to work sucks and noone wanted to do it.

[Shade Everdark]

If the bridge actually had been deemed unsafe and nothing was done about it.. it's not just the governemnts fault. We, the general populace, share just as much of the blame. Bridges are one of those things we just expect to work and throw fits if it has to be shut down for repairs. So repairs a pushed off until they cant wait any longer.. or in cases like this, until it's too late. The University of Minnesota may well hve done that report.. and most likely published it. Yet, nothing was done, why didn;t they push for it to get fixed? Why didn;t they throw a fit? Why didn;t the general populace throw a fit? It wasn;t because the bridge would have cost a large amount of cash to fix... it's because major repairs would mean shutting it down... driving an extra 10min to get to work sucks and noone wanted to do it.

While I agree with all the substantive stuff here, I think there's a small difference in motivation. To be perfectly fair, I think most people would be more upset by the traffic congestion closing down the bridge would entail, rather than the few extra minutes it might take to arrive at their destinations.

Like I said, niggling little details.

[Homicidalheathen]

I thought about this last night when I was crossing that damn rickity ass bike bridge at 15 and groesbeck. No wonder people are dying risking crossing Groesbeck under the thing. It is falling apart.

[AntiHero]

We can spend billions of dollars to build a bunch of shit overseas only to see it get blown up on CNN next week and we cannot even repair our own infrastructure. Fucked up.

My heart goes out to the victims. Horrible way to go.

[Homicidalheathen]

At the 696 exit at Groesbeck.....I always pull ahead or stay behind the lines where the thing is put together. I have never trusted those damn things. Those assholes behind me can cut around or beep don't care. I am not sitting ontop one of those damn things.

Detroit is NOT known for good bridge construction.

[Homicidalheathen]

Here is some local gov. BS for ya.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article.../708030371/1001

Safe my ass.

Quote: About 285 state bridges in metro Detroit were rated structurally deficient.

Jim Steele, the Federal Highway Administration's Michigan division administrator, declined to speculate on the possibility of a major bridge collapse in Michigan, saying "anything now would be premature."

But he said the state's high number of bridges rated structurally deficient doesn't mean drivers should fear using them.

Ha ha! Have no fear! Trust your local politician! LOL!