Bridge falls into Mississippi River - Page 4

realcowgirl · #46 08-03-2007, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skcin

^That's what gets me. They keep telling us all these bridges are in need of repair, but then they decide it's too expensive, so they just patch them up a bit & hope they last. I mean, really, is this something we should be stingy about?

They're perfectly happy to spend all kinds of money elsewhere. It's like if I needed a new roof on my house & decided it was too costly, but renovated my kitchen. It makes no sense to me.

I was watching news about this on tv last night, and they said something about needed 9/5 millions dollars per year for hte next 20 years to get all of the bridges 'back into shape', but they only have 2 million budgeted for it.

Then they were asking , if this MN bridge has been inspected and was deemed structurally deficient, why was it still in use? The response was something about 'it needed some work, but was sound enough to work for the remaining life of the bridge'. WTF? 'the remaining life of the bridge'? Guess what they meant was 'we'll just take our chances until it doesn't work anymore.'

skcin · #47 08-03-2007, 08:04 PM

^ Exactly. Like "oh, it'll go down, but not in the near future, so we can let it go for a while longer."

Macfanforever · #48 08-03-2007, 08:40 PM

From Yahoo News

Blaming begins in Minneapolis bridge collapse

By Todd Melby Fri Aug 3, 3:33 PM ET

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Politicians trying to account for one of the worst bridge collapses in U.S. history cast blame ranging from engineering faults to the Iraq war on Friday, while divers tried to reach the bodies of more victims in the Mississippi River's treacherous waters.

As investigators probed Wednesday's collapse that killed at least five people, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said outside experts would review the decisions of state engineers to shore up problems with the heavily-traveled 40-year-old bridge in central Minneapolis.

Engineers had decided to periodically inspect the steel superstructure beneath the Interstate 35W bridge and bolt on reinforcing plates where any aws were found. But that work, which Pawlenty said fit in the state's budget, was postponed by resurfacing and repair work that was going on when the bridge buckled and fell.

"Experts that we rely on, technical experts and engineers, made some decisions about what needed to be done. They thought they were making an appropriate decision for their reasons, and now those decisions will have to be reviewed," Pawlenty said. A private engineering firm had been hired for the review.

"The bridge was declared fit for service," he said. "There will be tough questions asked, including by me, and we will get to the bottom of this."

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, suggested Bush administration spending on the Iraq war may have crimped funding for domestic projects such as road and bridge construction, and for such infrastructure projects as new levees for New Orleans.

"We've spent $500 billion in Iraq and we have bridges falling down in this country," Klobuchar told MSNBC. "I see a connection between messed-up priorities."

Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said billions of dollars were available for road and bridge repairs.

The bridge was a vital link over the Mississippi River and the most heavily used bridge in Minnesota with roughly 140,000 vehicles passing over each day.

"It is striking the bridge was carrying a load of traffic it was not designed for," said the Democratic Speaker of Minnesota's House, State Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher.

Estimates ranged as high as $500 million to rebuild it.

Visiting first lady Laura Bush praised the city's response: "We've seen the strength of your community, and because of that we're confident the bridge will be rebuilt and your city will heal."

President George W. Bush is scheduled to tour the scene on Saturday.

Pawlenty said a special legislative session may be in the offing to address funding to rebuild the bridge. Pawlenty's critics blamed him for vetoing a state gas-tax increase that would have boosted funding for construction projects.

Meanwhile, rescuers spent an entire day extracting the fifth fatality from under mounds of debris, Minneapolis Fire Chief Jim Clack said. He said more victims were certain to be found.

Divers searched submerged cars that tumbled 65 feet (20 meters) into the Mississippi River when the bridge collapsed with a roar.

"This is very dangerous work because the divers can get caught in the debris, some of which is razor-sharp," Clack said.

Divers battled swift currents, and had to feel their way in the muddy waters around twisted steel and chunks of concrete.

"You got gas in there, oil. Besides, the Mississippi River is not the cleanest place. You didn't have any visibility, you just felt," Minneapolis Fire Department diver Raoul Raymose said on CBS' "Early Show."

Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek cautioned that his estimate of eight people still missing was "fluid" and subject to change.

Twenty-four of the nearly 100 people injured in the disaster remained in hospitals, including five who were in critical condition, a hospital spokesman said.

(Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington)

mikeschmike · #49 08-08-2007, 03:41 PM

Wow guys, it turns out that the bridge collapse is MY fault.

Quote:

http://minnesotamonitor.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2184

Fred Phelps Is Coming
by: Eric Black
Tue Aug 07, 2007 at 10:27:54 AM

The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., plans to stage protests at funerals of victims of the 35W bridge collapse to state that God made the bridge fall because he hates America, and especially Minnesota, because of its tolerance of homosexuality.
The church and its pastor, the Rev. Fred Phelps, have become notorious over recent years for their claim that the attack of 9/11 was an act of God's vengeance and their determination to make that case at the funerals of U.S. soldiers who died in Iraq.

In a press release issued the day after the bridge collapse, the church called for protests at the funerals and outlined its feelings about the relationship between God's plan and the sins of Minneapolis and Minnesota, which it calls the "land of the Sodomite damned."

Reached at the church, Shirley Phelps Roper, who is both the daughter of the pastor and one of the attorneys for the church, said that America, and Minnesota especially, have alienated God by its tolerance for homosexuality, and that the bridge collapse was an act of God's vengeance. She said:

"The bridge stood in place by the word of God and it fell by the word of God...Each of these little events is just a harbinger of the coming destruction of this American experiment. We are delivering the final call of the doomed nation."
She said, as they have done for years, members of the church would stand "lawfully and peacefully on the public right of way" near the funerals and "put in the air words of praying and instruction and warning."
The signs that the protesters will wave will read:

"God cast down the bridge... Thank God for 9/11... America is doomed... God hates fags... God hates fag enablers... God hates Minnesota."

ryan8472 · #50 08-08-2007, 03:45 PM

Why do these people live in America if it's doomed?

Sarah · #51 08-08-2007, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryan8472

Why do these people live in America if it's doomed?

"Because they're pathetically sheltered and couldn't survive anywhere else" is my guess.

JazmenFlowers · #52 08-08-2007, 03:49 PM

gays.ruin.everything.

DeadliestPoison · #53 08-08-2007, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JazmenFlowers

gays.ruin.everything.

******crickets******

Sarah · #54 08-08-2007, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JazmenFlowers

gays.ruin.everything.

yeah, you guys need to quit getting together and having all those gay babies.

JazmenFlowers · #55 08-08-2007, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah

yeah, you guys need to quit getting together and having all those gay babies.

for serious. cause we all know this is better.

Sarah · #56 08-08-2007, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JazmenFlowers

for serious. cause we all know this is better.

those are god's children you're disrespecting!

i'm sorry, i can't keep a straight face anymore.

DavidMn · #57 08-08-2007, 11:56 PM

Something to Ponder:

There is another bridge here in the twin cities called the Lafayette bridge which is highway 52 that spans approximately 2/3 of a mile over the Mississippi river leading into downtown St Paul that is slated for replacement in 2011. Problem is the 35W bridge that collapsed recieved a safety rating of 50 out of a 100. This one got a 49 OUT OF A 100 last year. I think maybe they might wanna speed that timetable up a bit!