Minneapolis — Last night, just after 6 pm, the eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge collapsed in downtown Minneapolis during the peak of rush hour. Over 50 cars fell more than 64 feet into the Mississippi River, killing at least four people and injuring 79.
I live here in Minneapolis and heard about the tragedy around 6:30 at a medical appointment and immediately my cell phone began to light up. (Everyone I know is okay, thank goodness!) I have driven over that bridge countless times in my life and I would’ve driven home over that bridge just an hour later.
I didn’t really understand the magnitude of the destruction until I headed down there today. I spent the day alongside the Mississippi, talking with curious bystanders, police officers, security guards and other media folks. I’ll be sharing a lot more with you in the coming days but I wanted to give you a good insight of what is happening here, so here’s a quick summary of what I learned today:
As I mentioned, I had a hard time visualizing the destruction but when I saw the scraggly bits of metal, the huge slabs of slanted concrete and the cars, vans and trucks defying gravity and holding on by the slightest grip - that’s when reality kicked in. (I took quite a few pictures which I hope to post tomorrow. We’ll also be shooting some video, too.)
Other bystanders shared their thoughts with me as the day unfolded. Many mentioned the last time they drove over the bridge. “It could’ve been me,” many said. Others shared their personal theories of why the bridge collapsed (”the construction” being the most frequent response”).
I also heard two personal accounts of connection to the tragedy. One gentleman mentioned his coworker was still missing and while I grabbed a quick bit to eat at a local riverside tavern, I heard a heroic story from a waiter named Joe. When he heard the sirens and saw flames of smoke outside, Joe ran down to the riverbank and climbed up and over a huge embankment in order to pull a drowning woman out of the river. Unfortunately, she was already dead.
Other things Joe witnessed were several people in hysterics, another guy with a massive head and face injury, piles of metal and multiple cars submerged underwater. He seemed a bit disappointed when he was turned away from the scene by officials - he wanted to do more to help.
I also attended a media conference where Sgt. Hanson, an officer from the Minneapolis Police Department, gave his first responder account of the whole disaster. He arrived shortly after the collapse and after a quick assessment of the situation, he and a team of officers scrambled across concrete slabs, slid down beams and dodged twisted metal to rescue stranded victims from a huge span of the bridge in the middle of the river. In order to wade through the river, he and the other officers took “a calculated risk” and decided to leave their gun belts behind, thinking they would be too heavy and might act as an anchor. But their radios were also in those belts and they had to shout to other officers in order to communicate. Sgt. Hanson’s story is just one of the many heroic efforts of local, state and federal law enforcement and first responders. I hope to share more with you in the days to come.
Personally, I’m still processing this whole entire event. It’s pretty catastrophic and quite possibly the biggest disaster Minneapolis has experienced – at least in my lifetime. It will take months, perhaps even years for the city to recover.
Minnesota’s Governor, Tim Pawlenty, stressed the importance of starting inspections of the main bridges in Minnesota, including 3 trunk bridges that are structurally similar to the 35W bridge that collapsed. Over 3 percent of the bridges in the state are labeled as “structurally deficient.”
If you’re not in Minnesota, consider the safety of your own bridges. According to the Federal Highway Administration, over 77,000 bridges across the country are considered “structurally deficient,” counting for 13% of all bridges. In a recent statement from federal officials, the government would need to devote $9 billion a year over 20 years to fix all of the “structurally deficient” bridges in the country. That’s $180 billion. While that might sound like a lot, consider that we’ve already spent over $500 billion towards the war in Iraq. That’s just in five years time.
If you are concerned about road, bridge and traffic safety in your state, write to or call your congress representatives and state officials. Turn to your local media for actions you can take to help improve your transportation system. (Here’s a rundown of the percentage of “structurally deficient” bridges for each U.S. state.)
Also, if you are wanting to help the city and people affected by this tragedy, consider donating money to a reliable nonprofit organization, like the Red Cross. Do not come to the city to help - there is enough help already at the disaster scene.
Thanks for reading and for all your thoughtful letters and kind words. I will update this blog with more photos, stories and information over the coming days. If you have a story you’d like to share or have a question you’d like answered, please email me. Or share your thoughts in the Comments below!
How To Help:
For More Information:
News Organizations
State and City Branches
Federal Government Branches
! I also saw correspondents from CBC Canada, all across the US and apparently even Al-Jazeera is in town.