Who Broke The Bridge?

[Larry Caldwell]

I’m a retired land surveyor but my degree is in civil engineering and I had structural design classes. I am by no means a structural engineer. I’m pretty sure they will say it’s a fatigue failure. It’s also a bolted connection and they put plates there to make up for the fact they drilled holes in the beam, the plate makes it stronger.

If you have ever walked on a bridge they bounce quit a bit when trucks go across.

There going to go around inspected a bunch of bridges now? I doubt it unless they are of a similar design. They already inspect bridges now, even little ones, they how they catch problems.

After things like this happen there is a sudden screaming for more money on infrastructure. Will things change? I doubt it.

I worked in design and construction at a major university once. It was a standing joke that everybody wanted to blow money on a new building, but nobody wanted to fund a new sewer. Congress is always eager to spend $trillions on a new war, but actually giving taxpayers something for their money is communism.

 

[Diggin It]

^^^ The funny (but sad) thing about that is that Ike pushed development of the Interstate highway system based on the Autobahn Germany used to rapidly move troops and equipment. Ike loved the efficiency of it and wanted it here. But it has never really been maintained with military readiness in mind.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^ The funny (but sad) thing about that is that Ike pushed development of the Interstate highway system based on the Autobahn Germany used to rapidly move troops and equipment. Ike loved the efficiency of it and wanted it here. But it has never really been maintained with military readiness in mind.

That's because we don't want to think we will ever be invaded. So far, so good.

 

[/pine]

IIRC...one of the main stipulations of the Interstate highway system as far as military applications was...that every so many miles there had to be a stretch of straight lanes that would allow for the landing of military aircraft...

 

[bcp]

I also read that the highways were to bypass all the cities so essential traffic wouldn't be jammed up in city traffic. Cities would be served by spurs off the main highways. All the city politicians objected and that plan was over-ruled.

Bruce

 

[buckeyefarmer]

No danger of it falling. That piece is just a brace on the bottom. The deck is supported by the superstructure above, with cables down to the large crosspieces that hold the deck. That piece holds the bottoms in place but unless there’s a lot of other cracks, it ain’t going nowhere. I’d drive across it, and have with that crack.
Only a total moron would be stopping boat traffic under it.

 

[RickB]

I also read that the highways were to bypass all the cities so essential traffic wouldn't be jammed up in city traffic. Cities would be served by spurs off the main highways. All the city politicians objected and that plan was over-ruled.

Bruce

Only temporarily. Major metro areas now tend to have interstates looping the perimeter.

 

[RickB]

No danger of it falling. That piece is just a brace on the bottom. The deck is supported by the superstructure above, with cables down to the large crosspieces that hold the deck. That piece holds the bottoms in place but unless there’s a lot of other cracks, it ain’t going nowhere. I’d drive across it, and have with that crack.
Only a total moron would be stopping boat traffic under it.

The failed member is integral to keeping the arch from spreading at the bottom and dropping the entire span in the river. Only a moron would refer to it as "just a brace".

 

[ruffdog]

Barge traffic resumes.

 

[RickB]

Barge traffic resumes.

I'm not surprised. There were almost 120 barges stacked up in no time at all. They woulda dynamited that bridge and dragged it out of the way before long if it were in eminent danger of collapse.