Just reported on my local news.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2013 09:35PM by Speedy.

This is in the Mt. Vernon area.

[blogs.seattletimes.com]

[www.king5.com]

From one of TL's links:

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Bridge consultant reports since 2010 one bridge a month collapses. Prior to that it was one bridge every eight months.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Horrible, - just hope those people all get out OK.

this might be why I'm hearing swarms of helicopters heading north right now (this bridge is about 55 miles north of Seattle)

Reportedly an oversize vehicle hit a bridge truss. That will certainly take down that style bridge. I hope they got that driver. Hazmat is the only thing more critical than oversize.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Haven't heard that, but if true, that's one reason this bridge is listed as "structurally obsolete," it's too small.
Three people have been taken to hospitals and appeared generally OK to bystanders - hopefully that's everyone who went in the water.

"The bridge was built in 1955 and has a sufficiency rating of 57.4 out of 100, according to federal records. That is well below the statewide average rating of 80, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data, but 759 bridges in the state have a lower sufficiency score.

According to a 2012 Skagit County Public Works Department, 42 of the county's 108 bridges that are 50 years or older. The document says eight of the bridges are more than 70 years old and two are over 80.

Washington state was given a C in the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2013 infrastructure report card and a C- when it came to the state's bridges. The group said more than a quarter of Washington's 7,840 bridges are considered structurally deficient of functionally obsolete.

Traffic on I-5 has halted in both directions and backups were significant. Southbound traffic was being diverted to SR 20 while northbound traffic was being diverted to the East College Way Exit."

Just saw this comment on CNN, so true!

"For those unfamiliar with the I-5 corridor in the Seattle area, this is a huge issue assuming no one was seriously injured. The bridge is on Interstate 5 and spans a decent sized river. I-5 is the only major route between the greater Puget Sound area and Canada, affecting all travel and commerce. And it will likely take years to fix/replace based on WSDOT's previous projects. This CNN article makes it sound like it's a one way covered bridge on some dusty backroad."

Quote
Speedy
Reportedly an oversize vehicle hit a bridge truss. That will certainly take down that style bridge. I hope they got that driver. Hazmat is the only thing more critical than oversize.

yes that's been confirmed, a truck hit the bridge and caused the collapse, live coverage:

[www.king5.com]

or maybe not. truck did hit the bridge but maybe didn't cause collapse? I guess nobody can say that for sure until after DOT/NTSB investigation.
Traffic now jammed all the way up to Canadian border.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2013 11:31PM by Lemon Drop.

no fatalities, according to DOT. 2 people in hospital are OK.
pretty amazing

cell service not working in the area - that again!

The volume of truck traffic between Vancouver BC and Seattle is enormous.
Also, now the extremely large volume of Canadian shoppers won't be able to reach the outlet mall & casino in Marysville easily.

Here in Wa state, we have too much water, and too many bridges!

There's only a couple hundred square miles of dry, non-squishy, not-hilly land in the whole region!

must be a difficult place to build a castle

Quote
guitarist
Here in Wa state, we have too much water, and too many bridges!

There's only a couple hundred square miles of dry, non-squishy, not-hilly land in the whole region!

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Quote
Lemon Drop
no fatalities, according to DOT. 2 people in hospital are OK.
pretty amazing

Yes, really fortunate. Especially with the heavy truck traffic. It was very helpful that it happened during the day because I can imagine how easy it would be to zoom right off a bridge in the dark, just after I touched the brake pedal but before my wheels stopped turning.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Quote
guitarist
Here in Wa state, we have too much water, and too many bridges!

There's only a couple hundred square miles of dry, non-squishy, not-hilly land in the whole region!

Most of Washington gets less than 20" of precipitation annually, and about 2/3 of the land area is near desert.

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Quote
ztirffritz

Quote
guitarist
Here in Wa state, we have too much water, and too many bridges!

There's only a couple hundred square miles of dry, non-squishy, not-hilly land in the whole region!

Most of Washington gets less than 20" of precipitation annually, and about 2/3 of the land area is near desert.

Washington State and the Olympic Peninsula are some of the most beautiful places in the World.

---

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There is another bridge over that river just a few hundred yards east of the I-5 bridge. They will have a temporary route set up VERY soon. [fficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&sa=N&tab=wl&authuser=0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">maps.google.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2013 10:29AM by Racer X.

It looks like there are some other bridges to divert traffic across that river, although they may or may not be rated for trucks. There's also another one further to the east on highway 9.

It should be replaced by a tunnel. ;)

I predict there will be an official story soon, then in 6-12 months it will change. I doubt the bridge will be replaced within 2yrs. It could be replaced in a year, but there will be at least a year of drama.

The news coverage on this has been especially horrible. Rather than spending time giving facts about the bridge, instead they interviewed people who think they might know one of the people who ended up in the water. He is a "nice guy" and he was probably on his way to play hockey. He had been playing hockey since he was...

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Eastern washington doesn't count.
The liberal Seattle Tacoma area has the majority of the population and votes so the conservative rest of the state has no voice.
Our Govoner spoke at a press conference last night. When the reporters started asking alot of specific question about replacing the bridge his only answer was "this should be a joyfull day because no one was killed" ????

Quote
ztirffritz

Quote
guitarist
Here in Wa state, we have too much water, and too many bridges!

There's only a couple hundred square miles of dry, non-squishy, not-hilly land in the whole region!

Most of Washington gets less than 20" of precipitation annually, and about 2/3 of the land area is near desert.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2013 11:16AM by bruceko.

I know Gov. Jay Inslee and like him quite a lot, he's a good guy.

But if he's not your political cup of tea, he probably can't please you.

It IS joyful and amazing that no one was killed or even seriously injured it seems.
We deal with horrible traffic all the time so it won't be a particularly new experience.

If they wanted to solve the problem right now, they could have that bridge inspected and a temporary span up in a week. But that's not going to happen.

Quote
Racer X
If they wanted to solve the problem right now, they could have that bridge inspected and a temporary span up in a week. But that's not going to happen.

a week? I don't think so. It'll take several months, at least. Right now it's not known if they can just replace that one segment with the existing design, the easiest and fastest thing, or if more of the bridge is compromised and they have to replace the entire thing.

Meanwhile the trucking company that owns the rig that hit the bridge says it has permits to cross that bridge. The witness description of the accident sounds as though another truck tried to pass that truck on the left just at the moment it needed more clearance to cross the bridge, and forced it into the bridge.

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Lemon Drop
I know Gov. Jay Inslee and like him quite a lot, he's a good guy.

But if he's not your political cup of tea, he probably can't please you.

It has nothing to do with politics. People were asking specific questions, and he was completely avoiding them. That makes him disingenuous at best, which is not the trait of a "good guy".

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My guess is that they'll build a new bridge and name it the Tim Eyman Memorial Bridge.

---

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Quote
M A V I C

Quote
Lemon Drop
I know Gov. Jay Inslee and like him quite a lot, he's a good guy.

But if he's not your political cup of tea, he probably can't please you.

It has nothing to do with politics. People were asking specific questions, and he was completely avoiding them. That makes him disingenuous at best, which is not the trait of a "good guy".

Bunk. People asked him how long it would take to repair the bridge and the answer is not known, so there is no reason for him to answer.

Quote
Lemon Drop

Quote
Racer X
If they wanted to solve the problem right now, they could have that bridge inspected and a temporary span up in a week. But that's not going to happen.

a week? I don't think so. It'll take several months, at least. Right now it's not known if they can just replace that one segment with the existing design, the easiest and fastest thing, or if more of the bridge is compromised and they have to replace the entire thing.

Meanwhile the trucking company that owns the rig that hit the bridge says it has permits to cross that bridge. The witness description of the accident sounds as though another truck tried to pass that truck on the left just at the moment it needed more clearance to cross the bridge, and forced it into the bridge.

My partner's family has been doing heavy construction and heavy demolition for generations. Her dad was a nuclear certified welder on the Satsop and Hanford construction jobs, and her brother gets flown all around the world to do demo work. He was on the crew that blew up the Kingdome and dismantled Johnson Atoll.

Anyway, you put enough motivated and talented people on it, you could have it PATCHED TOGETHER in a week. That's if government stays away from the project.

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Racer X
Anyway, you put enough motivated and talented people on it, you could have it PATCHED TOGETHER in a week. That's if government stays away from the project.

They won't... so any "temporary" fix will take a year, minimum.

---

Paul F.
-----
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

--

--
Eureka, CA

I don't want to drive over a freeway bridge that was thrown together in a week. Thanks anyway for the kind offer.

Quote
Racer X

Quote
Lemon Drop

Quote
Racer X
If they wanted to solve the problem right now, they could have that bridge inspected and a temporary span up in a week. But that's not going to happen.

a week? I don't think so. It'll take several months, at least. Right now it's not known if they can just replace that one segment with the existing design, the easiest and fastest thing, or if more of the bridge is compromised and they have to replace the entire thing.

Meanwhile the trucking company that owns the rig that hit the bridge says it has permits to cross that bridge. The witness description of the accident sounds as though another truck tried to pass that truck on the left just at the moment it needed more clearance to cross the bridge, and forced it into the bridge.

My partner's family has been doing heavy construction and heavy demolition for generations. Her dad was a nuclear certified welder on the Satsop and Hanford construction jobs, and her brother gets flown all around the world to do demo work. He was on the crew that blew up the Kingdome and dismantled Johnson Atoll.

Anyway, you put enough motivated and talented people on it, you could have it PATCHED TOGETHER in a week. That's if government stays away from the project.

It can and has been done in a week
[www.westportnow.com]

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[soundcloud.com]

The Pentagon was built in 16 months.. it seems to have held up OK. Fast doesn't mean bad when it's done by competant people. I can build you a crappy bridge just as slow as you like - won't make it any better a bridge.

---

Paul F.
-----
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

--

--
Eureka, CA

Building off-site and craning into place is much faster and safer for motorists and construction workers.
They are doing it more and more often here.
[transportation.blog.state.ma.us]

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Lemon Drop

Quote
M A V I C

Quote
Lemon Drop
I know Gov. Jay Inslee and like him quite a lot, he's a good guy.

But if he's not your political cup of tea, he probably can't please you.

It has nothing to do with politics. People were asking specific questions, and he was completely avoiding them. That makes him disingenuous at best, which is not the trait of a "good guy".

Bunk. People asked him how long it would take to repair the bridge and the answer is not known, so there is no reason for him to answer.

Wish I could find the full video, but I can only find clips. Even if all he was asked was for an estimate on the repair, avoiding the question is not an honest answer.

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Quote
M A V I C


Wish I could find the full video, but I can only find clips. Even if all he was asked was for an estimate on the repair, avoiding the question is not an honest answer.

here's the video of Jay's complete comments, it starts in the second video at 5:30. The comments are thorough and gracious and complete as far as everything that was known last night, and he sets expectations about what was going to happen today. Well done Gov.

[www.king5.com]

Quote
billb


It can and has been done in a week
[www.westportnow.com]

??

different situation
there is already another bridge over the Skagit, we don't need a "skeleton bridge," we have to repair the existing one that is part of I-5.

Although, just read this in the NY Times. If something already constructed is available, that could possibly help, temporarily.

Mr. Inslee, a Democrat, said that state transportation officials were scouring the country looking for a temporary bridge structure that might be brought in to span the river until the collapsed section can be fully replaced.

[www.nytimes.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2013 03:46PM by Lemon Drop.

The bridge is old enough that the whole thing should be replaced with a different type. Your trusses shouldn't be at risk from traffic. And the permitted truck should never have allowed another vehicle to 'force' it to do anything under those conditions.

---

Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Quote
Lemon Drop

Quote
M A V I C


Wish I could find the full video, but I can only find clips. Even if all he was asked was for an estimate on the repair, avoiding the question is not an honest answer.

here's the video of Jay's complete comments, it starts in the second video at 5:30. The comments are thorough and gracious and complete as far as everything that was known last night, and he sets expectations about what was going to happen today. Well done Gov.

[www.king5.com]

The video you referenced is cut off before the short question and answer period where he made the statement I referenced

Quote
bruceko

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Lemon Drop

Quote
M A V I C


Wish I could find the full video, but I can only find clips. Even if all he was asked was for an estimate on the repair, avoiding the question is not an honest answer.

here's the video of Jay's complete comments, it starts in the second video at 5:30. The comments are thorough and gracious and complete as far as everything that was known last night, and he sets expectations about what was going to happen today. Well done Gov.

[www.king5.com]

The video you referenced is cut off before the short question and answer period where he made the statement I referenced

Exactly.

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I detect a humor deficit. Partly cloudy, with a chance of fog.

My post got a statistical rebuke, as though it were a serious comment?

I was being silly and dramatic, folks. I've used the same precipitation info to educate non-local people who think it rains gallons in Seattle, year-round.

A. it's wet all the time (true, regardless of volume, it's the frequency, frequency, frequency, drizzle drizzle drizzle, drip drip...)

B. Washington State has a lot of bridges, bridges, bridges.

B. is a subjective observation, I don't know how it compares to other coastal or port cities. When driving around scenic regions here, in recent years, I was amazed by the endless waterways and rivers and endless bridges, lots and lots of bridges.

And yes. It's very pretty here.

But thanks for the official corrections. We wouldn't want to mislead the serious readers. Super-pretty. And not rainy. Really. It's not very rainy. Honest.

Quote
ztirffritz

Quote
guitarist
Here in Wa state, we have too much water, and too many bridges!

There's only a couple hundred square miles of dry, non-squishy, not-hilly land in the whole region!

Most of Washington gets less than 20" of precipitation annually, and about 2/3 of the land area is near desert.

Quote
M A V I C

Quote
bruceko

Quote
Lemon Drop

Quote
M A V I C


Wish I could find the full video, but I can only find clips. Even if all he was asked was for an estimate on the repair, avoiding the question is not an honest answer.

here's the video of Jay's complete comments, it starts in the second video at 5:30. The comments are thorough and gracious and complete as far as everything that was known last night, and he sets expectations about what was going to happen today. Well done Gov.

[www.king5.com]

The video you referenced is cut off before the short question and answer period where he made the statement I referenced

Exactly.

Jays say that they would be getting to work on the repair timeline right away, but it wasn't known at that time.
So what moron reporter then follows-up and wastes everyone's time with "what's the timeline?"
Really, that's your take away from all this, a redundant, dumb question from a reporter?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2013 08:14PM by Lemon Drop.

The only time a government project takes less time is when eeets a secret project *(:>*
Not run by da gubernment *(:>*

---

“Stay Hungry Stay Foolish"
Steve Jobs

"There are only two mantras yum and yuk mine is yum "
Bernard Mickey Wrangle<>Tom Robbins<> "Still Life With Woodpecker"

"There is a fine line between a rut and a groove"
G.D. Kittredge III

"






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2013 03:29AM by haikuman.