Minnesota Bridge Collapse: Latest News — Aug 2nd 2007

By Dakota Smith

The latest news from yesterday's collapse of Minnesota Interstate 35W bridge:

According to this AP story, "structural deficiencies" were found in the 35W bridge two years ago. Also, Congress is working on $250 million federal aid package, while President Bush will visit the bridge region this weekend.

Already, engineers in other states are being asked to review the safety of thousands of structures. According to the AP: "States such as Missouri and Massachusetts had already identified bridges similar to the one that collapsed in Minnesota. Missouri, for instance, has 11 so-called truss bridges and plan to examine them first."

How do you even check to see if a bridge is at risk? Today, Slate looks at how bridges are examined, while the New York Times blog breaks this news: "Only three of the 787 bridges maintained by the New York City Department of Transportation are rated in poor condition, and the Brooklyn Bridge--opened in 1883--is one of them."

Meanwhile, don't head over to YouTube to see any videos. Users aren't interested in watching footage, notes a ZDNet blog. A video of the collapse from a security camera is available at this CNN.com link.

And here are some interesting, basic facts about the bridge and the river from the Washington Post site. Finally, the Minnesota Twins will resume playing at the Metrodome, which is located blocks away from the bridge, after postponing today's game against the Kansas City Royals, reports Bloomberg News.

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