Re: Speculating on the SFSJ bridge
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I'm reading the photo as:
-right (downstream) handrail buckled and kinked outwards severely, twisting the bridge
-left handrail rotated about 45 degrees in the middle, with perhaps a kink in the middle of the deck (seen in the shadow in the river)
-seems still anchored on both abutments.
I agree that it still seems quite above the river. I doubt it is safe to cross. Restoring steel that has been severely kinked like this seems like quite a challenge, especially in the backcountry.
I'm quite curious how such a seemingly robust bridge could fail like this; it seemed to be in good shape when I crossed it last summer. Does anybody have any ideas on if/when/where an official report might be published? If this could fail, what about the other bridges that have similar designs?
Luckily, failed steel bridges often retain clues that allow reconstruction of the collapse. Such was the case in 2007 when the I35 bridge here in Minneapolis dropped into the Mississippi river.
Mike Sherman
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