I-35W Mississippi River bridge

I-35W Mississippi River bridge
picture of the bridge painted green and surrounded by green foliage seen from the Mississippi bank
Bridge 9340 in May 2006, one year prior to collapse
Coordinates44°58′44″N 93°14′42″W / 44.97889°N 93.24500°W / 44.97889; -93.24500
Carried8 lanes of I-35W
CrossedMississippi River
LocaleMinneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Official nameBridge 9340
Maintained byMinnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT)
ID number9340
Characteristics
DesignContinuous truss bridge
Total length1,907 ft (581.3 m)
Width113.3 ft (34.5 m)
Height115 ft (35.1 m)
Longest span456 ft (139 m)[1]
Clearance below64 ft (19.5 m)
History
Construction start1964[2]
OpenedNovember 1967
CollapsedAugust 1, 2007
Statistics
Daily traffic140,000[3]
Location
Map

The I-35W Mississippi River bridge (officially known as Bridge 9340) was an eight-lane, steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River one-half mile (875 m) downstream from the Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The bridge opened in 1967, and was Minnesota's third busiest,[4][5] carrying 140,000 vehicles daily.[3] After only 39 years in service, it experienced a catastrophic failure during the evening rush hour on August 1, 2007, killing 13 people and injuring 145. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) cited a design flaw as the likely cause of the collapse, noting that an excessively thin gusset plate ripped along a line of rivets. Additional weight on the bridge at the time of failure was also cited by the NTSB as a contributing factor.[6]

Help came immediately from mutual aid in the seven-county Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area and emergency response personnel, charities, and volunteers.[7][8][9] Within a few days of the collapse, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) planned its replacement with the I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge. The construction of the replacement bridge was completed quickly, and the new bridge officially opened on September 18, 2008.[10][11]

  1. ^ "BR9340 Construction Plan" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. 1965. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 9, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
  2. ^ "I-35W bridge Fact Sheet". Minnesota Public Radio. August 3, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2007.
  3. ^ a b "St. Paul–Minneapolis Seven County Area" (Map). 2006 Traffic Volumes (PDF). Street series. Cartography by Office of Transportation Date & Analysis. Minnesota Department of Transportation. 2006. Minneapolis inset. Retrieved August 7, 2007. This map shows average daily traffic volumes for downtown Minneapolis. Trunk highway and Interstate volumes are from 2006.
  4. ^ Metro Area Street Series Index (PDF) (Map). Minnesota Department of Transportation. 2006. Retrieved August 9, 2007. Index map for Mn/DOT's 2006 traffic volumes; relevant maps showing the highest river bridge traffic volumes are Maps 2E, 3E, and 3F.
  5. ^ Weeks, John A. III (2007). "I-35W Bridge Collapse Myths and Conspiracies". John A. Weeks III. Retrieved August 6, 2007.[self-published source]
  6. ^ Frommer, Frederic J. (November 13, 2008). "NTSB: Design Errors Factor in 2007 Bridge Collapse". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved November 13, 2008.
  7. ^ Schneier, Bruce (August 23, 2007). "Time to Close Gaps in Emergency Communications". Wired News. Retrieved August 26, 2007.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stassen-Berger-Brewer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Response to I-35W Bridge Collapse Showed Minneapolis is a City that Works" (Press release). City of Minneapolis. August 15, 2007. Archived from the original on August 29, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  10. ^ "I-35W St. Anthony Falls Bridge Mississippi River Crossing in Downtown Minneapolis". Minnesota Department of Transportation. 2008. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
  11. ^ "35W Bridge Project". Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 7, 2007. Archived from the original on August 24, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2007.

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