Mississippi River bridge Collapses

In the weeks prior to August 1, 2007, Mn/DOT conducted repairs on the surface of the bridge and, shortly before the incident, announced that it would reduce traffic flow on the bridge to one lane in each direction during the late evenings of July 31 and August 1 to accommodate construction.^[34][35][36]

At 6:01:38 PM, CDT on August 1, 2007, a large portion of the bridge collapsed into the river and onto the riverbanks below.^[35][37] The collapse took only four seconds, sending more than 50 vehicles, their occupants and several construction workers into the river or onto its banks.^{[12][35][38][39]}

Several vehicles caught fire among the debris, including a semi-trailer truck, forcing fire crews to route hoses from several blocks away.^[12] In addition, a portion of the bridge fell onto a freight train traveling beneath the structure.^[40] No one on the train was injured.^[41] Drivers were stranded on parts of the collapsed bridge that were not submerged.^[42] Fifty children, aged four to fourteen, and eight staff members were riding a school bus that was on the bridge at the time of the collapse, returning from a weekly field trip to a water park. The bus made it most of the way across the bridge before the roadway collapsed underneath the vehicle.^[43] Reports indicate that all the children on the bus escaped safely, but one youth worker was severely injured.^[44]

Sequential images of the collapse were taken by an outdoor security camera located near the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers control house for Saint Anthony Falls Lower Lock and Dam.^[45][46]

By August 2, rescue efforts had shifted to recovery of fatalities, with several vehicles known to be trapped under the debris and at least eight persons reported missing.^{[35][47][48][49]} The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lowered the river level using the Ford Dam (located approximately 3 miles (5 km) downriver at West River Road and East 50th Street) by two feet (60 cm) on August 2 to allow easier access to vehicles in the water; lowering it any more than that would actually create a more dangerous environment for divers.^[50][51]

Here are a few video showing its breakdown: