From the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) press release: "The National Transportation Safety Board today issued a safety recommendation that addresses a design issue with the I-35W bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi river on August 1, 2007. In this accident, approximately 1,000 feet of the deck truss fell into the river, and as a result, 13 people died and 145 people were injured.
"The recommendation is made to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and states: 'for all non-load-path- redundant steel truss bridges within the National Bridge Inventory, require that bridge owners conduct load capacity calculations to verify that the stress levels on all structural elements, including gusset plates, remain within applicable design requirements, whenever planned modifications or operational changes may significantly increase stresses.'"
The NTSB recommendation letter and 20-page interim report on the collapse have been posted on the agency website.
In related news, the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission issued its final report, "Transportation for Tomorrow," yesterday. The report includes recommendations for upgrading the nation's surface transportation system.
Source: Wald, M.L., and Davey, M. (16 Jan. 2008). "States Advised to Check for a Bridge Design Flaw." New York Times.
No comments:
Post a Comment