Inspectors Highlighted Bridge Faults

Feds expected to report inadequate plates

(NEWSER) - The Minneapolis bridge that failed last summer, killing 13 people, had fatal design flaws, the NTSB announced today. Steel gusset plates that held together beams on the eight-lane bridge were half the thickness they should have been, investigators found. While the agency didn't say the gusset plates caused the collapse,16 fractured plates were discovered on the center span, which collapsed during the evening rush hour Aug. 1, AP reports. More»

Divers recover construction worker's remains

(NEWSER) - The body of the 13th victim and last person missing since the Minneapolis bridge collapse nearly three weeks ago has been recovered, AP reports. Gregory Jolstad, 45, was a member of the 18-person construction crew working on the doomed structure when it plunged into the Mississippi river. The other 17 survived. More»

(NEWSER) - The body of a 2-year-old girl is among those recovered from the wreckage of the I35W bridge in Minneapolis; the toddler's mother has not yet been found, CNN reports. Remains located by divers in the Mississippi today bring the total number of casualties in the Aug. 1 collapse to at least nine. More»

Jigsaw parts to be examined; search for victims continues

(NEWSER) - NTSB investigators will rebuild the wreckage of the I-35W bridge downriver, the Star Tribune reports. Safety officials will examine the twisted rubble piece by piece in an attempt to figure out what caused last week's devastating collapse. Investigators also hope to recover bodies still trapped in the debris. More»

Hunt still on for missing

(NEWSER) - Federal engineers rated the Minneapolis bridge that plunged into the Mississippi as "structurally deficient" as far back as 1990 and as recently as 2005, citing significant corrosion in its bearings. But state officials opted for patchwork repairs and more inspections rather than a complete overhaul. "We thought we had done all we could," said an engineer. "Obviously, something went terribly wrong." More»