Bridge Removal

EvilGentleman: 28th Dec 2007 - 03:18 GMT

Wow! Just wow! Great post, TK.

As far as the "20/20 hindsight" inspections of other structures after the collapse goes, we have the same thing happening here.

After the overpass collapse that killed 5 people in September 2006 just north of Montreal, the government started inspecting every overpass in the province, with hundreds shut down for weeks when flaws were found and corrected.

The main expressway downtown had lanes closed in order to reduce the weight of the traffic on it, as cracks and other structural flaws were found in the piers supporting the elevated structure. They just re-opened all the lanes on the expressway a few days ago. You can see the support piers (with graf) in my Under the Ville-Marie series of posts.

Many other highways have had lanes closed on overpasses as well, including the one that I use every day to take my wife to work. They actually had to close it around one overpass, as the structure was on the verge of failing, and had to be supported from underneath. One lane is still permanently closed off by concrete barriers, as it is now occupied by a scaffoldlike structure supporting the highway I drive on. And the road underneath that has been restricted? It's the main exit ramp for Montreal's Trudeau International Airport.

I know of at least three overpasses that were completely demolished as a result, one of which I used on a semi-regular basis, and I now have to detour about 5 miles to get to my destination.

It may be way too late, but I am glad they are finally doing something. I just wish it had not taken people dying (twice, 2006 and 2000!) for them to do realize that roads need to be properly maintained.

Just curious, do they use salt in Minnesota as much as they do here in Quebec? It is believed to be the main culprit in a lot of our problems, alongside shoddy work by budget-minded contractors.

EvilGentleman: 28th Dec 2007 - 03:21 GMT

Crap! I used a hyphen in my tag of the Under the Ville Marie posts, rendering the link in my above comment useless.

Tyfoid Kid: 28th Dec 2007 - 15:12 GMT

They used to use a lot of salt but I think they are using more of combination of salt on some other liquid chemical. All the snow plows have these big tanks on the sides full of something sloshing around. Last I heard the NTSB is looking at how much construction equipment was on the bridge at the time of the collapse. They think the combination of a weakened structure, lot of weight, temps in the 90's and rush hour traffic might have created a "perfect storm" scenario.