35W beam failed first, lawyer says
An engineering firm hired by attorneys for victims of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse says the cause of the disaster was not undersized gusset plates but the failure of a nearby beam, a lawyer for the victims said Wednesday. The firm's findings directly contradict the conclusion reached by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Chris Messerly, lead attorney representing 117 survivors and relatives of victims, said the engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti Inc. concluded that the beam was under immense stress partly because of the hot weather and the loads placed on the bridge's deck the day of its collapse. The firm said the bridge's bearings -- designed to allow for expansion and contraction -- were corroded, no longer moved and kept the bridge from expanding in the summer heat, causing the beam to fail.
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A local hero among our nation's greatest
Jeremy Hernandez, a hero during the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, was awarded by the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation.
America celebrates another I-35W hero
Jeremy Hernandez, a 22-year-old Minneapolis youth worker, helped rescue more than 50 kids in the bridge collapse.
I-35W bridge tragedy may yield new rules
Tighter oversight is urged after a federal panel found skipped calculations set the disaster in motion.
NTSB findings don't end political debate over bridge
Supporters and critics of the governor and MnDOT find support for views in the report.
NTSB's final bridge report due today
The I-35W bridge's fatal flaw: Gusset plates, but other factors were cited in the collapse. The final report on the Aug. 1, 2007, catastrophe will be released after today's hearing.
Photo galleries
More 35W Bridge stories
- Skeptical or accepting, survivors are listening
- NTSB to review 35W bridge report
- NTSB bridge findings already criticized
- Oct. 26: I-35W bridge was doomed from the start
- 179 claims filed for bridge collapse victim fund
- Coming together to remember
- A day of remembrance and healing
- Kids on bus express feelings with a mural
- Readers share their memories: We can't forget
- One year after: Remembering, rebuilding
- Aug. 1: Our bridges: To do nothing will cost more
- Aug. 1: Sacked by MnDOT, Pitt is fired again
- NTSB: Corroded gusset plate fractured
- HCMC honored for response to I-35W bridge collapse
- See 238 more stories
Thirteen people died and hundreds of lives were changed the day the I-35W bridge fell. Hear the many stories of survival as part of our interactive presentation that shows where the cars were and who was in them.
Special project
The family that fell: The Coulters
After the I-35W bridge crumbled beneath the Coulter family's car, the family was plucked from the wreckage and scattered, one by one. All four were hurt, with Paula Coulter one of the most critically injured of all the victims. It's been nearly five months, but for them, normalcy is still a long way off.
Video
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Audio
- 911 calls from the bridge
- Transportation funding argument gets heated
- Molnau talks about seeing the bridge for the first time
- Lisa Jolstad: The waiting is the hardest part
- Father describes Jessie's ordeal
- Remembering Sherry Engebretsen
- Congressman Oberstar tours bridge site
- Bridge collapse survivor Gary Babineau
- Police captain says families grieving, appreciative
- Friends remember Patrick Holmes
Graphics
I-35W bridge collapse:
Shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday, August 1, the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed.
Minnesota bridges rated
An interactive map showing 350 bridges that are either "structurally deficient," "functionally obsolete" or are being reinspected because they use gusset plates similar to those on the I-35W bridge.