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To: unclewest who wrote (214107)	8/1/2007 10:36:54 PM
From: MJ	Respond to of 793939

Have a couple of brothers who are Civil Engineers----one does expert testimony on such things as bridge collapses. Will pick his brain and see what he initially thinks. mj

To: unclewest who wrote (214107)	8/2/2007 1:49:24 AM
From: KLP	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 793939

Collapsed bridge in Minnesota~~Latest report: 7 dead, at least 60 injured, 20 missing.... And from Wizbang... wizbangblog.com Update VII: John Hinderaker who lives in Minneapolis writes this: This is a relatively new highway; I think the bridge is around 30 years old. There is construction underway on Highway 35. One hopes that didn't contribute to the disaster. This is certainly not an earthquake zone. This is the kind of disaster that just doesn't happen in the United States--a bridge spontaneously collapsing, apparently, into a river. It is hard to convey to those who don't live here the astonishment of this sort of catastrophe happening on our most traveled highway. Update VIII: Captain Ed, who also lives in Minneapolis, is following the story closely and has this: KSTP reports that the people on the bridge who were uninjured did not run off the bridge -- they went from car to car to look for the injured and give them assistance.

To: unclewest who wrote (214107)	8/3/2007 2:59:09 PM
From: MJ	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793939

unclewest Certainly I feel for the families who have lost their loved ones in the bridge collapse. The factors that you describe are all factors we rarely think of until a disaster happens-----we as drivers just want to get there. I called my brother who does expert testimony------he has been involved in road work since he was a teanager and is a Civil Engineer with advanced degrees and practical experience. He is involved in a case now in another state that did not end up with the same amount of devastation to human life. I will leave it at that. In discussions with him about his work the item that always comes up is how so much of our highway infrastructure needs constant attention and is dated. Bridges don't last forever no more than other structures we engineer. What was new 30 years ago is now old. It's kind of like the new shoes we think are still new but may be 10 or 20 years old and the foundation has given away with time. mj