35W Bridge..

[Domer121]

Hey everyone,
I come from MN... about 3 miles from where the 35W bridge is located,, I just wanted to make sure that everyone on the forum and their families are alright..

[Idril]

It looks like it was a horrific collapse. I have friends and relatives in Minneapolis but everyone is accounted for and safe.

[Niamh]

yeah they showed it on the 6 o'clock new here. Hope none of our American litnetters are injured.

[Virgil]

Yes my thoughts are with those in Minneapolis. I was just over there on a business trip at the end of June, and I've gone there often over the years. I'm not sure if I driven over that bridge or not. But I do know exactly where that is. I may have even taken some pictures of it when I was killing a little time with my camera downtown. I've worked with quite a few people over the years from Minneapolis and I'm praying they are all OK.

[Lily Adams]

Ack! I know. It looks terrible. I know there are already deaths and many are injured. :(

My dad called me and told me to turn on the news when it happened. He thought it was another terrorist attack.

What made it fall? Is there a solid reason or are people still investigating? I mean, how could it just fall like that out of nowhere? Was the ground unstable?

[Niamh]

the news said that checks had been done on it last year and some wear had been noticed, but it was still passed off as stable.

[Poetess]

Sorry guys, but what actually happened?

[Idril]

Yes, what Niamh said, it was declared as sound not that long ago but there will most definitely be investigations as to how something this catastrophic could happen to a bridge that passed inspection.

[Poetess]

Ah okay, I guess what`s going on now..
hope everyone`s okay and as Niamh said "Hope none of our American litnetters are injured"

[Virgil]

Ack! I know. It looks terrible. I know there are already deaths and many are injured. :(

What made it fall? Is there a solid reason or are people still investigating? I mean, how could it just fall like that out of nowhere? Was the ground unstable?

Well, the bridge doesn't seem to be that old. I think I read around 40 years old. That's not that old. We have bridges in NYC over 100 years old. But it was identified as having some sort of problems. But they were also doing some repairs at the time. So the question is whether the problem identified made the thing collaspe or did something the repair crew do cause it to fall.

[Mortis Anarchy]

Sorry guys, but what actually happened?

Yeah, me too. I'm so behind on the news!!

[Virgil]

Yeah, me too. I'm so behind on the news!!

Bridge collasped in Minneapolis yesterday.

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/07_03/MinneapolisAP0208_468x579.jpg

[Idril]

I have a very close friend who lives there and works at the U of M. She said she and her co-workers were so overwhelmed by all the media coverage, that everyone she knows has been completely inundated with calls from friends and relatives making sure they're ok and apparently, that's freaking them out more than the news about the bridge. She said she didn't know if they were all still in shock or what but at this point, they all agreed that the media coverage and attention has been more unsettling than the actual collapse of the bridge. It's an interesting thought, does the media worsen the situation in cases like this, how much does it increase the sense of trauma in an already catastrophic event?

[Virgil]

I have a very close friend who lives there and works at the U of M. She said she and her co-workers were so overwhelmed by all the media coverage, that everyone she knows has been completely inundated with calls from friends and relatives making sure they're ok and apparently, that's freaking them out more than the news about the bridge. She said she didn't know if they were all still in shock or what but at this point, they all agreed that the media coverage and attention has been more unsettling than the actual collapse of the bridge. It's an interesting thought, does the media worsen the situation in cases like this, how much does it increase the sense of trauma in an already catastrophic event?

I know how they must feel, Idril, but as much as I hate the media they do need to report this. What choice do they really have?

[Idril]

They don't have a choice, I understand that it's news worthy but I think it's interesting to consider that the coverage itself can become yet another stressor in an already traumatic event. I'm sure you experienced some of that yourself after 9/11. I'm not suggesting it should have gone unreported, I was just waxing philosophical about it's effect on those people who are dealing with the event on a personal level.

[Virgil]

They don't have a choice, I understand that it's news worthy but I think it's interesting to consider that the coverage itself can become yet another stressor in an already traumatic event. I'm sure you experienced some of that yourself after 9/11. I'm not suggesting it should have gone unreported, I was just waxing philosophical about it's effect on those people who are dealing with the event on a personal level.

Understood. :)

[Lily Adams]

It sickens me to think that our money is going more towards the war in Iraq rather than fixing the problems we have over here.

[bibliophile190]

I do agree that that the media does tend to hype up many issues past their actual importance, but I think that in this case, it can't exactly get much more horrific than it already is.

[amanda_isabel]

hope everyone's fine...

media does a lot, both worsens the trauma of those concerend and maybe eases it for some.. either way, the media is a big thing and i guess even those who are a part of it don't realize what it can really do. they make a story of a catastrophe and then soon enough they can make a story of a catastrophe that happened when a viewer was watching the news.

[Virgil]

It sickens me to think that our money is going more towards the war in Iraq rather than fixing the problems we have over here.

What? Lily, I know you're young, but the way US government works is that infrastructure is mostly a state responsibility and military is a federal responsibility. Those are two different money streams and have nothing to do with each other. Minnisota happens to be one of the wealthiest states in the country (it has lots of industry) and also considers itself one of the most "progressive," having one of the most generous social programs of any state in the country. You can turn your question around and ask why are they spending so much on social programs when they are not taking care of their bridges? It currently has a budget surplus, so money was more than available. Not only that it is currently funding a new football stadium for the Minnesota Vikings at a cost of $100 million dollars. For that they could have built a brand new bridge.

Now what I just said in the above paragraph is just as demogogic as what you said. Both of us are being unfair. Do you think that anyone knowing that the bridge would collaspe would let it? No I don't think so. Obviously some error was made, probably not by any politician but an inspection engineer who did not realize how critical the damage was.