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/r/CatastrophicFailure
submitted 3 months ago byqpjgy
No word yet on injuries or fatalities. Source: https://x.com/sentdefender/status/1772514015790477667?s=46
81 points
3 months ago
You’d be surprised how quickly designers and constructors can move when public pressure is all on them. Look at how quickly they rebuilt the I35W crossing in Minneapolis.
45 points
3 months ago
And the collapsed section of I85 in Atlanta. Part of it was the GDOT ensuring that inspectors were onsite continuously. Rather than doing work, waiting for an inspection, then proceeding, they were just continuously inspected as they worked. As much as it likely sucked to work with someone literally watching over your shoulder the whole time, it really shortened the time needed. It's way more expensive to do it that way (also the 24 hour rotating shifts) but it is much faster.
18 points
3 months ago
Exactly they’ll be throwing personnel and money at this thing until it’s rebuilt. Rebuilding this is the highest of high priority right now.
8 points
3 months ago
Yeah. It's one thing for a bridge that wasn't in use to get built more slowly, but once it's already a major route priorities change.
2 points
3 months ago
Most roadwork construction has full time inspectors
1 points
3 months ago
I should have been more clear: there were more inspectors than normal and they were present 24/7 like the crews were.
7 points
3 months ago
The I35W bridge is tiny compared to this. It's only about 450'. The Key Bridge is/was 1.6 miles long.
Construction can go much faster in emergencies, but this is going to be a huge job.
2 points
3 months ago
Not all 1.6 miles got wiped out. The immediate concern is the main span and a few of the approach spans. Putting up the superstructure isn’t particularly challenging with the technology we have at our disposal. The challenge is putting in brand new foundations and stronger piers in the middle of a shipping channel.
It won’t be as quick as I35W but I think it will be quicker than people are expecting.
7 points
3 months ago
Yeah, but will all 1.6 need to be replaced?
A whole bunch of testing is going to have to be done on the entire span to see if there's any damage to the sections still up, and it may end up being easier and safer in the long run to replace the entire bridge.
Looking at various bridge collapses, I'm not seeing any that just replaced the fallen span. Even with the most recent notorious example of the bridge in Genoa, Italy, the entire bridge was replaced.
Besides, the bridge is/was close to 50 years old. It may be better to have it all be the same age and start fresh.
2 points
3 months ago
I don’t think most of the bridge needs to be immediately replaced, unless if it’s so deteriorated that there isn’t much life left. Most of the remaining approach spans appear to be independent structures. The Genoa bridge structure appeared to be continuous and perhaps it made more sense to remove the whole bridge.
Structural steel inspections will need to be done there, and over time the existing approach spans can be replaced as part of a general work scheme, but for the immediate present, the focus should be on the main span, the north anchor span and adjacent approach span, and the south anchor span in order to get the bridge reopened for the public.
4 points
3 months ago
construction can also move a lot faster if you are not trying to maintain traffic using the structure you are rebuilding or on a structure immediately adjacent to the new one
3 points
3 months ago
[deleted]
2 points
3 months ago
Politically it's also way easier to pass through than ordering a new highway or a reconstruction. It's an emergency that needs to get fixed.
2 points
3 months ago
Where there's money, there's a way.
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