Falling Concrete Closes 35E At Maryland Bridge (guess where?)

[brooklynite]

Source: WCCO

ST. PAUL (WCCO) ― Drivers heading north on Interstate 35E got a bit of a scare Saturday afternoon. A chunk of concrete fell off the Maryland Avenue Bridge in St. Paul and struck two cars. One car had damage to its hood, the other to its windshield.

That part of I-35E was shut down in both directions at 5 p.m. while the bridge was inspected. Inspectors said the piece of concrete that fell was a 4-foot by 4-foot piece of concrete that was 3 inches thick.

"Prior to 35W you think, 'a piece of concrete fell off.' Then when 35W happened, now we get these calls and (you think) 'how bad is it?'" said Lieutenant Rochelle Schrofer of the Minnesota State Patrol.

In this case, no one was hurt and MnDOT officials said the bridge's structure is safe. After a brief closure, the Maryland Avenue Bridge that runs over I-35E reopened around 6 p.m. MnDOT officials said it is not uncommon for pieces of concrete to break loose from structures.

Read more: http://wcco.com/local/maryland.avenue.35e.2.780813.html

[Ian David]

1. Other third-world countries don't maintain their infrastructure, either. n/t

[jwirr]

17. LOL you are so correct.

[Forrest Greene]

23. Well, See, This Is An Example Of

...the Bush Junta's faith-based infrastructure maintenance.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. But it's just a coincidence

that MN Governor and VP possibility Tim ("The Tool") Pawlenty, who's been sniffing McCain's jock for at least a year now, has consistently vetoed every attempt by the legislature to fund the DoT sufficiently to keep shit from falling apart. Or, at least until the 35W bridge collapsed and is now being rebuilt as quickly as possible so there isn't a big gaping hole for the convention-goers to see next month. But if pieces keep falling off Minnesota bridges, maybe people will finally get a clue that sucking up to the Taxpayers' League all the time is NOT a good thing.

[pattmarty]

3. We can only hope that during the convention................

.........40 buses full of Republican conventioneers fall 50 ft to the ground & water when another section of a bridge collapses.:sarcasm:

[Demeter]

4. What Would You Call a Disaster of That Magnitude?

A good start!

[UpInArms]

8. ...

[Hugin]

10. Maybe they need to use something more substantial in construction...

like Ginger Bread? Maybe?

:snarkasm:

[Vidar]

15. Or macaroni in tribute to the Flying Spaghetti Monster perhaps.

[Hugin]

5. "MnDOT officials said it is not uncommon for pieces of concrete to break loose from structures. "

In my umpteedozen years I've never seen it, but, I bet those guys see Bigfoot and Pink Elephants pretty often, also.

[Edweird]

19. That is bovine excrement. But you already knew that, didn't you?

[skoalyman]

22. me neither this could be ominous though whats next the stock market

na-aaa couldn't be :rofl:

[mzmolly]

24. They failed to add "under the leadership of Tim Pawlenty."

Unfortunately it's not "uncommon" for Minnesota Bridges to plunge into a body of water these days, either.

[dysfunctional press]

25. it does happen. especially in climates that get freezing winters.

the dan ryan in chicago had it happen a bunch of times prior to the rebuilding.

water seeps through cracks(ALL concrete cracks), freezes- expanding the cracks, allowing MORE water to come in next time, freeze, and expand the crack some more...and on and on.on overpasses, the water can pool between layers of caoncrete, eventaully weaking areas enough for pieces- even large ones, to fall.

[Gman]

6. Not uncommon??

I've been driving for almost 40 years and I've never seen it happen like that.

In a perfect world, a bridge will collapse again in Minneapolis/St. Paul during the GOP convention. No one will be hurt because it is the "perfect world".

[PM7nj]

12. It's very common in Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania's roads are horrible.

South Street Bridge in Philly is the worst. It is rusted all over and there are random holes in the road and sidewalk. . It used to drop big chunks of concrete onto I76 below. They only recently started to replace it. Here are a few pictures...



A few moths ago 195 had to be closed because someone found a gigantic crack in a support pillar.

[MidwestTransplant]

7. Quick cut the "gas tax" that pays for highway repair. That will help.

[ensho]

9. whose ok with commonly falling chunks of concrete?

MnDot officials are liars and probably insane

[BootinUp]

11. Not uncommon? holy knee high boots batman. nt

[tanyev]

13. Quick! Somebody start making these with hardhats inside!

[BootinUp]

14. Declared safe

until the next piece falls!!

[lonestarnot]

16. Marshmellow and gumdrops. mmmm. mmmm. mmm.

[ooglymoogly]

18. move along folks nuthin to see here...infrastructure falls appart all the time

(especially when it is not maintained). No harm no fowl. Everything's good, not to worry; We got your backs. Pssst; this bridge is for sale.

[Politicalboi]

20. No Biggie

Just drive fast over bridges and under bridges. Damn it I want my 18 cents gas tax cut. If you don't see it it isn't happening.

[quidam56]

21. It's well known...

C02 permeates concrete causing the re-bar to rust, swell and crack concrete. Let's build more coal fired power plants !

www.wisecountyissues.com

[L0oniX]

26. So we get our concrete from China now ?

[trthnd4jstc]

27. Many Third World Countries Are Autocracies, Fascist Police States, and psuedo-Socialist States

That is how the elites who rule these cultures prefer, just like the United States.