I-35W Mississippi River bridge | |
|---|---|
 Bridge 9340 in May 2006, one year prior to collapse | |
| Coordinates | 44°58′44″N 93°14′42″W / 44.97889°N 93.24500°W |
| Carried | 8 lanes of  I-35W |
| Crossed | Mississippi River |
| Locale | Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Official name | Bridge 9340 |
| Maintained by | Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) |
| ID number | 9340 |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Continuous truss bridge |
| Total length | 1,907 ft (581.3 m) |
| Width | 113.3 ft (34.5 m) |
| Height | 115 ft (35.1 m) |
| Longest span | 456 ft (139 m)[1] |
| Clearance below | 64 ft (19.5 m) |
| History | |
| Construction start | 1964[2] |
| Opened | November 1967 |
| Collapsed | August 1, 2007 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 140,000[3] |
| Location | |
 | |
The I-35W Mississippi River bridge (officially known as Bridge 9340) was an eight-lane, steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River one-half mile (875 m) downstream from the Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The bridge opened in 1967, and was Minnesota's third busiest,[4][5] carrying 140,000 vehicles daily.[3] After only 39 years in service, it experienced a catastrophic failure during the evening rush hour on August 1, 2007, killing 13 people and injuring 145. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) cited a design flaw as the likely cause of the collapse, noting that an excessively thin gusset plate ripped along a line of rivets. Additional weight on the bridge at the time of failure was also cited by the NTSB as a contributing factor.[6]
Help came immediately from mutual aid in the seven-county Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area and emergency response personnel, charities, and volunteers.[7][8][9] Within a few days of the collapse, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) planned its replacement with the I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge. The construction of the replacement bridge was completed quickly, and the new bridge officially opened on September 18, 2008.[10][11]
- ^ "BR9340 Construction Plan" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. 1965. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 9, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
- ^ "I-35W bridge Fact Sheet". Minnesota Public Radio. August 3, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2007.
- ^ a b "St. Paul–Minneapolis Seven County Area" (Map). 2006 Traffic Volumes (PDF). Street series. Cartography by Office of Transportation Date & Analysis. Minnesota Department of Transportation. 2006. Minneapolis inset. Retrieved August 7, 2007. This map shows average daily traffic volumes for downtown Minneapolis. Trunk highway and Interstate volumes are from 2006.
- ^ Metro Area Street Series Index (PDF) (Map). Minnesota Department of Transportation. 2006. Retrieved August 9, 2007. Index map for Mn/DOT's 2006 traffic volumes; relevant maps showing the highest river bridge traffic volumes are Maps 2E, 3E, and 3F.
- ^ Weeks, John A. III (2007). "I-35W Bridge Collapse Myths and Conspiracies". John A. Weeks III. Retrieved August 6, 2007.[self-published source]
- ^ Frommer, Frederic J. (November 13, 2008). "NTSB: Design Errors Factor in 2007 Bridge Collapse". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved November 13, 2008.
- ^ Schneier, Bruce (August 23, 2007). "Time to Close Gaps in Emergency Communications". Wired News. Retrieved August 26, 2007.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Stassen-Berger-Brewerwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Response to I-35W Bridge Collapse Showed Minneapolis is a City that Works" (Press release). City of Minneapolis. August 15, 2007. Archived from the original on August 29, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
- ^ "I-35W St. Anthony Falls Bridge Mississippi River Crossing in Downtown Minneapolis". Minnesota Department of Transportation. 2008. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
- ^ "35W Bridge Project". Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 7, 2007. Archived from the original on August 24, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2007.