Drivers queued up to see collapsed bridge replacement
Minneapolis Star Tribune Sep 18, 08 12:09 PM CDT
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Festive honks awoke Minneapolis today as first responders to last year's bridge collapse led a procession over its newly-minted replacement. Drivers waved and passengers snapped photos as they rode over the 10-lane interstate at a creeping 10mph. Traffic was backed up for a mile after the bridge opened at 5am this morning, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
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Victims eligible for $400K apiece
Minneapolis Star Tribune May 2, 08 1:19 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Minnesota will establish two funds totaling $38 million to compensate victims of the Minneapolis bridge collapse that killed 13 people last summer, the Star Tribune reports. One pool allows victims up to $400,000 each; the other provides those "extraordinarily impacted" by the collapse with extra funds for medical bills and other needs. In exchange, victims will waive their right to sue the city or state.
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UPDATED
Feds expected to report inadequate plates
Associated Press Jan 15, 08 11:50 AM CST
(Newser)
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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.
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15 bodies recovered after suspension span collapses
CNN Dec 25, 07 1:04 PM CST
(Newser)
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Nepalese rescuers were searching into the night for about 200 people who plummeted into a swirling river when a suspension bridge collapsed. Another 15 bodies have been recovered, and 32 were taken to nearby hospitals. Up to 1,000 Hindu pilgrims were on the bridge when it failed in a remote part of Nepal. Most swam to safety after the 100-foot plunge.
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Dozens more injured in southern city of Can Tho
Reuters Sep 26, 07 12:05 PM CDT
(Newser)
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As many as 60 workers were killed today when a bridge under construction in the southern Vietnamese city of Can Tho collapsed, Reuters reports. Chinese and Japanese contractors were working on the bridge over the Hau river; Vietnamese TV reported that rain might have softened the bridge's foundations, though no official explanation has been given.
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Divers recover construction worker's remains
Associated Press Aug 21, 07 2:33 AM CDT
(Newser)
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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.
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Bridge was under construction
Associated Press Aug 14, 07 7:06 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A bridge under construction in Hunan Province collapsed yesterday, killing 22 people and leaving 44 missing. Workers were removing scaffolding from the 880-foot-long span when it crumbled into the Tuo River. Located in the ancient city of Fenghuang and designed as a tourist attraction, the bridge had four decorative stone arches. Most of the workers on the bridge when it fell were local farmers.
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Wireless devices far smarter than humans with binoculars
BusinessWeek Aug 13, 07 5:43 PM CDT
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New technology can diagnose bridge stress months before human investigators—currently armed with binoculars— could ever detect them. BusinessWeek compares the small wireless sensors to stethoscopes, as they’re capable of gauging vibration, temperature and corrosion beneath the paint. Testers ride trucks over the sensors and monitor signals, listening for the small sounds that signal weakness.
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Hoisted school bus part of tragedy that could have been worse
USA Today Aug 12, 07 9:09 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Divers recovered more human remains from the Mississippi River bridge site today after being kept out of the water in a thunderstorm last night, CNN reports. The divers fought dangerous river currents to bring up the remains, which were not identified on the scene. Five people are still missing in the collapse, which has injured 100 and taken 8 lives so far.
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CNN Aug 10, 07 5:37 PM CDT
(Newser)
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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.
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Confirmed death toll climbs to 7; at least 6 more remain missing
Minneapolis Star Tribune Aug 9, 07 6:30 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Authorities recovered two more bodies from the wreckage of the I-35W bridge today, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports, bringing the official death toll to seven. One of the bodies has already been identified, and police anticipated retrieving a third as work continued for a seventh full day in and around the Mississippi River.
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Prez blasts Congress, warns Iran over Iraq, asks Sarkozy to lunch
New York Times Aug 9, 07 5:51 PM CDT
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President Bush today rejected a gasoline tax increase that would raise money for bridge repairs across the country, saying Congress should reevaluate the way it allocates tax revenues now. In a wide-ranging press conference before departing for vacation in Maine, he continued to defend Alberto Gonzales and fielded numerous questions about Iraq, the Times reports.
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Same metal plates are used by hundreds of other bridges
New York Times Aug 9, 07 5:28 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Federal experts investigating the Minneapolis bridge disaster have identified a structural flaw that may have led to the collapse, reports the New York Times . Investigators suspect that steel gusset plates used to connect the girders weren't strong enough to support the bridge right from the start. Federal authorities immediately warned states to be careful to calculate added weight when assigning construction crews to work on bridges.
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Debris removal delayed as Navy, FBI divers comb wreckage
Minneapolis Star Tribune Aug 8, 07 6:17 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The I-35W bridge collapse followed 10 years' worth of warnings from bridge inspectors, who eventually recommended that the structure be replaced, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Experts disagree on the urgency with which the warnings were issued and should have been addressed, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty said yesterday that no experts indicated the bridge should be closed.
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Jigsaw parts to be examined; search for victims continues
Minneapolis Star Tribune Aug 6, 07 4:46 PM CDT
(Newser)
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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.
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