So, while the gussets were identified as the root cause of this devastating collapse, it was really three separate factors coming together that led to disaster. Another contributor: Wear and tear on the gussets had not been identified prior to construction starting because bridge inspections had been missed. It took a secondary factor, the additional weight of construction equipment parked on the bridge at the time, to trigger the failure. The issue: The plates had supported heavy traffic volume for 40 years. The official cause was attributed to gusset plates that were too thin and tore along a line of rivets. The I-35W Mississippi River Bridge in Minneapolis collapsed suddenly in August 2007. However, when they hit a bridge that’s structurally too rigid to withstand them, it leads to failure.īy Mike Wills (Flickr), via Wikimedia Commons For example, severe winds may not be enough to cause a structure to come down. However, when they take place all at once, they result in devastating consequences. The top reason bridges fail is a mix of factors that, if they happened individually, would not cause a bridge to collapse. In this article, we’ll reveal the top reasons bridges become seriously compromised or collapse, along with lessons learned from ones that failed because of - or survived despite - these factors. The best way for them to prevent catastrophic accidents is to understand the factors that cause bridges to fail. That’s why bridge designers, engineers, construction workers, managers, and inspectors take their jobs so seriously. 6, 2017 Bridge Masters Bridge Design, Safetyįeatured image By Martha T (05-23-13 Skagit Bridge Collapse), via Wikimedia Commonsīridge failures can lead to injuries, loss of life, and property damage on a scale equal to plane crashes, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters.
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