+ Famous Bridge Collapses
Minneapolis Bridge Collapse
August 1, 2007. Current speculation suggests the bridge may have missed inspection for the last two years due to city funding problems.
See Chuck Olsen's coverage on MNStories.
"This was the fate of the Shimla bound truck that was trying to cross over the bridge over Sutlej river near Rekong Peo, Himachal, India. The cause of the bridge breakdown: Poor construction or maybe the truck was too overloaded." - Link.
Melbourne, Australia Cause of failure: Construction errors. On the 5th of October 1970, a 367-ft (112 m) span of the West Gate Bridge collapsed during construction. Approximately 2000 tons of steel and concrete came crashing down into the muddy banks of the Yarra below. Thirty-five workers lost their lives that day: many others were injured. Link.
"Angers Bridge was a suspension bridge over the Maine River in Angers, France. The bridge is famous for having collapsed on April 15, 1850, when 478 French soldiers marched across it in lockstep. Since the soldiers were marching together, they caused the bridge to vibrate and twist from side to side, dislodging an anchoring cable from its concrete mooring. Though a thunderstorm occurred during the collapse, engineering experts indicate the collapse was due to the soldiers instead of the storm. 226 soldiers died in the river below the bridge. The failure was attributed to a combination of dynamic load and corrosion of the anchors for the main cables." -Link.
"Kyoto University team crossing collapsed bridge northeast of Fengyuen. The new waterfall created by the vertical faulting is just to the left (east) of this bridge." - Link.
The Tay Bridge Disaster
"December 28, 1879, the central navigation spans of the Tay bridge collapsed into the Firth of Tay at Dundee, taking with them a train, 6 carriages and 75 souls to their fate." he fall of the bridge was occasioned by the insufficiency of the cross bracing and its fastenings to sustain the force of the gale. The Court of Inquiry indicated that if the piers, and in particular the wind bracing, had been properly constructed and maintained, the bridge could have withstood the storm that night, albeit with a low factor of safety - 4 to 5 was the norm at the time."
Amtrak ‘Sunset Limited’ plunged from a weakened bridge, 47 people died, 150 survived. 1993 September 22nd. USA, Alabama, Near Mobile. Link.
Hurricane Katrina bridge damage to Biloxi US 90, April 12, 2005. Link.
"In 1907 Quebec was building the biggest cantilever bridge in the world. Little did they know that on August 29 that they would also experience one of the largest bridge collapses in history. For those who are not familiar with a cantilever bridge design, think of it as a continuous beam anchored at both ends to pillars. The key to the bridge design was the weight of the centre span. This cantilever design is also use in large building where interior pillars cannot be used to support the roof, such as aircraft hangers." Link.
Posted to History by Drew on
August 2, 2007
8:46 AM
| comments (2)
Comments:
Posted by: Doug Klippert at August 2, 2007 11:49 AM
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Another bridge to add is the I-90 floating bridge in Seattle. It collapsed and sank during a severe windstorm on Thanksgiving Day, 1990. See video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm0YQ3vuyyY.
And in other news, in 1979, the Hood Canal Bridge (another floating bridge) collapsed and sank during a severe windstorm in northwestern Washington State.
Posted by: Ken at August 2, 2007 1:00 PM
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