LOST JEEPS :: View topic - MN Bridge collapse...

We didn't have a member on that bridge did we????
(Look at the top right and you'll see the KJ)

That is a kj, but the good thing is in the position on the bridge, they walked away. Wish I could say that abouth some others.

On a lighter note. We need to have a video of that kj driving off the bridge.

Very scary situation. I'm curious to see what they determine the cause of the collapse to be. I've heard reports of a construction crew using a jackhammer at the time of the collapse. It should have never happened and can probably be blamed on shoddy in construction, or maybe inferior materials.

I was supposed to be driving through there in two weeks on my way back home from Glacier National Park, but I guess I'll find a detour.

There is a national rating list on bridges the DOT keeps and this bridge rated a 50 out of 125 points I understand. If it had rated a 49 that would have meant something like "rebuild ASAP", instead it gets a surface deck redo that is highly visible and cosmetic.

No great love of the boa guy KJPilot but I understand your legislature passed a bill recently to improve infastructure and your current gov vetoed it because he is an anti tax guy. Folks can't have it both ways. Our parents paid the taxes to build todays infrastructure, we need to pay to keep it and improve it. Some folks rather spend the money on themselves for that new Escalade instead of paying an extra 5 cent gas tax because they wouldn't get caught dead driving a 5 year old Tahoe. Now those same folks whose undamaged Escalade is parked on the bridge will expect you to buy them a brand new one plus throw in a few hundred thousand for pain a suffering. They still won't want to pay the extra 5 cent fuel tax though and they still won't support public transportation because they don't use it.

Author:	2006KJSPORT4x4 [ Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:16 am ]
Post subject:	MN Bridge collapse...
Prayers out to all those effected by this incident... We didn't have a member on that bridge did we???? (Look at the top right and you'll see the KJ)

Author:	priell3 [ Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:50 am ]
Post subject:	Re: MN Bridge collapse...
2006KJSPORT4x4 wrote: We didn't have a member on that bridge did we???? (Look at the top right and you'll see the KJ) I wondered the same when I saw the pictures. A real shame.

Author:	VTNomad [ Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:51 am ]
Post subject:	Bridge
Very scary situation. I'm curious to see what they determine the cause of the collapse to be. I've heard reports of a construction crew using a jackhammer at the time of the collapse. It should have never happened and can probably be blamed on shoddy in construction, or maybe inferior materials. I was supposed to be driving through there in two weeks on my way back home from Glacier National Park, but I guess I'll find a detour.

Author:	SoDakJeep [ Thu Aug 02, 2007 3:17 pm ]
Post subject:
i thought that was a kj.....at least today they lowered the deaths back down to 4....last night there were reports as high as at least 9 dead. This isnt good hopes and prayers to all the familys....

Author:	WoodysKJ [ Thu Aug 02, 2007 4:10 pm ]
Post subject:
That is a kj, but the good thing is in the position on the bridge, they walked away. Wish I could say that abouth some others. On a lighter note. We need to have a video of that kj driving off the bridge.

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Author:	Dje Ryu [ Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:08 pm ]
Post subject:
WoodysKJ wrote: That is a kj, but the good thing is in the position on the bridge, they walked away. Wish I could say that abouth some others. On a lighter note. We need to have a video of that kj driving off the bridge. I know I would have tried. Don't see any reason it couldn't, either. Unless it slammed that car in front of it.

Author:	Guest [ Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:21 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Bridge
VTNomad wrote: Very scary situation. I'm curious to see what they determine the cause of the collapse to be. I've heard reports of a construction crew using a jackhammer at the time of the collapse. It should have never happened and can probably be blamed on shoddy in construction, or maybe inferior materials. I was supposed to be driving through there in two weeks on my way back home from Glacier National Park, but I guess I'll find a detour. They are saying structural failure. It was more age & 1960's technology & know-how than than shoddy work or poor quality materials. They discovered the bridge was un-sound in 2001 & 2004 & 2005... so they scheduled it's reconstruction... due sometime between 2015-2023. Obviously a bit too late. Seems that our pink boa wearing pro wrestler- B list movie star former governor was more interested in getting a choo-choo train running between down town & the Mall of America, so he have a legacy, than he was in fixing any important problems. Pardon me, I'm a bit bitter about this. Me & my family were no where near it, though my wife used to drive on it several times a week. As far as your trip, you only need to change your route about 10 miles. that bridge was on 35W through Minneapolis. There is also a 35E that runs through St. Paul. I-35 splits into W & E in the north burbs & rejoins in the south burbs.

Author:	Cowcatcher [ Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:39 pm ]
Post subject:
There is a national rating list on bridges the DOT keeps and this bridge rated a 50 out of 125 points I understand. If it had rated a 49 that would have meant something like "rebuild ASAP", instead it gets a surface deck redo that is highly visible and cosmetic. No great love of the boa guy KJPilot but I understand your legislature passed a bill recently to improve infastructure and your current gov vetoed it because he is an anti tax guy. Folks can't have it both ways. Our parents paid the taxes to build todays infrastructure, we need to pay to keep it and improve it. Some folks rather spend the money on themselves for that new Escalade instead of paying an extra 5 cent gas tax because they wouldn't get caught dead driving a 5 year old Tahoe. Now those same folks whose undamaged Escalade is parked on the bridge will expect you to buy them a brand new one plus throw in a few hundred thousand for pain a suffering. They still won't want to pay the extra 5 cent fuel tax though and they still won't support public transportation because they don't use it.

Author:	CD [ Thu Aug 02, 2007 11:22 pm ]
Post subject:
What a disaster, I watched a bit of it on the net yesterday. I'm sure heads will roll over this, should get Arnie from Cal down to do a Rambo on those lazy pricks that thought it can wait for a few more years to fix.

Author:	Rusty the Scoob [ Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:59 am ]
Post subject:
Rambo was Stallone. I grew up 6 miles from that bridge... my parents still live there. It was a long morning waiting for them to call me back and say they were ok.

Author:	Guest [ Fri Aug 03, 2007 11:54 am ]
Post subject:
Cowcatcher wrote: There is a national rating list on bridges the DOT keeps and this bridge rated a 50 out of 125 points I understand. If it had rated a 49 that would have meant something like "rebuild ASAP", instead it gets a surface deck redo that is highly visible and cosmetic. No great love of the boa guy KJPilot but I understand your legislature passed a bill recently to improve infastructure and your current gov vetoed it because he is an anti tax guy. Folks can't have it both ways. Our parents paid the taxes to build todays infrastructure, we need to pay to keep it and improve it. Some folks rather spend the money on themselves for that new Escalade instead of paying an extra 5 cent gas tax because they wouldn't get caught dead driving a 5 year old Tahoe. Now those same folks whose undamaged Escalade is parked on the bridge will expect you to buy them a brand new one plus throw in a few hundred thousand for pain a suffering. They still won't want to pay the extra 5 cent fuel tax though and they still won't support public transportation because they don't use it. It is not lack of money. The state of MN is running a surplus. As with any piece of legislation, the core issue is usually a good idea, but everything amended to it is nothing more than pork. The bill was to increase taxes on gasoline, you are right Pawlenty would veto it, but again, we are running a surplus! He is not an anti-tax guy, he is an anti-NEW-tax guy. I don't want to start a dissertation on history & economics, but if you look at both, you'll soon find that the government's actual intake from taxes goes UP when the tax rate (percentage) on the citizen goes down. When Ventura (pink boa guy) left, we had a deficit, Pawlenty cut taxes & refused to raise them again... poof surplus! Same happened nationally when Bush lowered taxes; government intake went up, & the deficit is dramatically lower. In the 1980's when Regan dropped the income taxes from as high at 90% to a maximum of 28%, Government intake tripled. So no, a tax bill would not have done crap for that bridge. Furthermore, last election cycle, the uninformed voters among us approved a transportation spending amendment to our state constitution. On it's face, it sounds great. the part everyone was told about was this: Every dollar collected in the name of transportation (like the gas tax,) would only be allowed to be used on transportation projects. That's great, right? No more politicians taking money from the transportation funds for their pet projects, cool! That is what everyone who didn't read the amendment thought. Upon a quick read though, one would find that it also capped expenditures on roads to 60% of total transportation expenditures, the other 40% HAS to be spent on mass transit... Oh, & that 40% is a floor, not a cap! In other words, the statehouse can as much as 100% of the funds on buses & trains (all located in the geographically small Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area) & that would be fine; spending 61% on roads state wide & 39% on mass transit is now unconstitutional! We have yet another issue in our City Councils. When ever a road project is planned & funded for their city, they have to approve it. In the city of Minneapolis, if there is not a tithe to mass transit of at least 20%, they reject it! These are state & national roads & funds mind you! I've seen much needed improvements be delayed for a decade because of this politicking. The I-35 bridge is no exception. When Ventura was pushing hard for the Hiawatha Line (his choo-choo train legacy,) opponents had mentioned that the funds would be better used for roads & bridges, & the I-35 bridge was mentioned in particular. Studies were done, by the state, who said yeah it's structurally unsound, (a 50 out of 125 on the scale you mentioned...missed it by one) but we think this 40 year old bridge will last another 20-25 years Apparently, the state was wrong, but hey, we have a cool looking light rail train that nearly nobody uses, that has been burning up billions of tax dollars from the transportation fund ever since. But hey, as my neighbor said at the time, he "feels more metropolitan, because now we have a train like Chicago & New York". I guarantee you that more people were on that bridge when it collapsed, than were on the train... & remember 75% of the lanes were closed, there could have been 3X as many cars on there when it dropped, but the number on the train would have been the same.

Author:	WoodysKJ [ Fri Aug 03, 2007 1:54 pm ]
Post subject:
I like the fact the the bodies are not even out of the water and Harry Reid has ALREADY blamed the White House for the disaster, which by the way the mantainence of the bridge is and was a STATE responsibility. That is VERY TACKY! Let's give the families some respect and let them burry their dead and heal their wounded before we start blaming somebody, who doesn't even have the responsibility to take care of the bridge, for its collapse.

Author:	Guest [ Fri Aug 03, 2007 2:25 pm ]
Post subject:
It's almost ghoulish. I'd bet money that almost no one in Washington DC, Democrat or Republican, was thinking about funds to repair roads & bridges until Wednesday night at 6:06 CDT. Can anyone find a quote from any politician previous to Wednesday evening, saying that they'd end the war in Iraq so the money can be used to fix roads & bridges? Bueller?...Bueller?...Bueller?...Bueller?...Bueller?...Bueller?... But like you said, It's a state responsibility.

Author:	CD [ Sat Aug 04, 2007 4:45 am ]
Post subject:
[quote="Rusty the Scoob"]Rambo was Stallone. quote] ah yes don't I feel like a nob Any why glad to here your fam is OK.

Author:	David Jr [ Mon Aug 06, 2007 7:18 pm ]
Post subject:
Here in NJ, we HAD a Transportation Trust Fund, for stuff like this. But, the greedy politicians kept putting their hands in that cookie jar for their own selfish reasons and now Gov. Warbucks (oops i mean Corzine) wants to raise gas taxes to fund bridge repairs before this happens here. Now if you don't mind,I have to go. The State Police have come to take me to jail. Gov Carla Catz doesn't like it when people speak out against him.

Author:	Rush345 [ Mon Aug 06, 2007 11:55 pm ]
Post subject:	State by State Deficient or obsolete Bridges
Hi everyone as tragic as this is Check out this Link to see how bridges in your neighborhood stack up. It's rather eye opening Go To: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20093413/ Hope you find this informing the best wsy to start the fix is in our own back yards first contact you local state government involved. Yes it's too late to help those poor soles who needlessly lost their lives. But maybe we can stop it from happening again . GET INVOLVED. LEAD FOLLOW or GET OUT of THE WAY

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