Yesterday during the evening rush hour the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River. The official death tolls stands at 4 and 20 people are reported as missing. The bridge was full of cars, trucks and a school bus. All of the children on the school bus have been accounted for and several are being treated at local hospitals for their injuries. Today’s focus by rescue crews is on recovery of any victims and discovering just what went wrong with the bridge.
“Obviously, this is a catastrophe of historic proportions for Minnesota,” Gov. Tim Pawlenty said.
While authorities didn’t rule out any cause Wednesday, they indicated structural failure as the likely cause. Federal transportation officials are expected to arrive today to investigate.
There had been road crews on the bridge repairing guardrails, lighting, and replacing concrete on the deck. A Federal Highway Administration report from 2005 rated the bridge as “structurally deficient”.
Read more information about the 35W Bridge collapse.
At Goldenberg & Johnson, PLLC, our hearts go out to the victims’ families of this tragedy.
For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse.
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