Wow, I’m really not sure what to say about this one.

First of all, my thoughts go out to all those who were injured, all those who lost their lives or that of a family member, to all the rescue workers, and to anyone who may still be trapped in the debris. May God bless each and every one of you.

I know virtually nothing about bridge design or engineering, so I’ll leave the speculation experts, but I just can’t believe that a major bridge on a major arterial could be in such a condition that it would collapse with little or no warning.

Coming from someone who lives near Portland, a city full of bridges crisscrossing two different rivers, I find the idea that a bridge declared safe in an inspection just two years ago can fail in such a sudden, catastrophic manner. I understand that bridges fail in earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, and even windstorms, but something like this happening (what current reports seem to peg as) purely out of the blue is simply mind boggling. Especially in the United States, where we have some of the best engineers and the largest highway system in the world.

Let’s hope that we learn from this incident and take extra care to inspect and repair bridges that have even the slightest problem that could lead to a collapse.

I’d include links, but there are far too many to include in this post. If you want more information, Google it or try the footnotes at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Mississippi_River_Bridge

Edit (8/2/2007) - Now it seems that the bridge was not, in fact, entirely safe. According to Wikipedia, it was rated as “structurally deficient” in 2005 and a 2006 inspection found “numerous problems, including fatigue cracking.” I find this both very disturbing and surprising, especially considering that early news reports said the bridge was in fine shape. Let’s just hope this helps prevent future collapses.