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by Spectre from Oviedo, FL

Last Post 342 days, 20 hours Ago


MN Bridge Collapse - CAMS & Engineering
Aug 1, 2007 | 11:29 PM
Category: News
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In this day and age with endless cameras, especially traffic CAMS, it will only be a matter of time before the horrific scene is shown on TV and/or the Internet.  In one respect, it will be useful for the forensic engineering analysis of the collapse, but I feel bad for the family & friends that will re-live the deaths of their loved ones, (reminiscent of 9/11).

 

As an aside, a 40-year old bridge, which is well-maintained and frequently inspected, should not collapse.  Although not prevalent back in 1967 when it was constructed, I’m concerned about “fake bolts” and shoddy construction and Quality Assurance in today’s infrastructure.  Given the escalating costs of construction, especially roads & highways, in spite of much greater engineering experience and knowledge, the low bidder is not always the best choice.  Thoughts?

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Member Comments Total Comments: 5
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Meb452m read my blog
Aug 2, 2007 | 7:59 PM

Spectre,good post.Your final comment is spot ON ! You get what you pay for. Ever hear anyone complaining about their bargain ceiling fan,that's why I bought HUNTER's, you put them up and pay for them once!
di8828 read my blog view my photos
Aug 2, 2007 | 10:20 PM

The lowest bidder usually ciges you what you ask for or someone overlooked something or put the cart before the horse kind of thing! Tee Hee!
Sarge read my blog
Aug 3, 2007 | 9:27 AM

1. Lowest bidder gets the contract, then come the changes and revisions that wind up pushing the cost back up closer to what the high bidder submitted. Lowest bidder is NOT always the cheapest.

2. I wonder how many bridges could have been maintained or upgraded with the money that was spent to build Alaska's "bridge to nowhere"? Anyone beside me see a relationship between pork barrel spending and our "let 'em eat cake" elected representatives?
shadows read my blog
Aug 3, 2007 | 9:51 AM

Good point, but unfortunately some bureaucrat that doesn't know anything about construction or engineering will probably make the decisions.

Although there should be a lot of focus on the construction maintenance, etc., no one seems to talk about what could reduce the wear and tear on the bridges. One such topic could be the state load limits for commercial trucks. Some of the trucks on our nation's highways can barely move because of the excessive weight that they are trying to transport. Stand on one of those bridges when a heavily loaded truck passes over and you will get an idea of the effect of that weight traveling with speed.
Meb452m read my blog
Nov 7, 2007 | 10:41 PM

I had also heard that the pilings on one side of the river had shifted 50ft. out of alignment before the collapse ? Hear of this or any more explanation ?
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Spectre

Aviation Professional. Married 21 years, (two daughters 9 & 13). Born. SEP'61 Proud to be a Conservative, Christian Republican. Embry-Riddle Grad 1991. Pro-gun, (CWP) & Pro-life! I bleed Red, White, ORANGE & BLUE! Favorite Books: The Bible, Atlas Shrugged, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Favorite Commentators: Limbaugh/Beck/Hannity/O'R
eilly/Coulter/Miller/Boor
tz/Ingraham/Humphries What's a Spectre? The scariest thing you've ever seen: the AC-130 Gunship (One helluva terrorist killer). Former AC-130 Crewmember 1st Special Operations Wing, (SOW) Hurlburt AFB, FL 1980-1986.

Member Since: 1/25/2007


 

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