|
|
Article: AFTER THE COLLAPSE; Did heat, rusted plates doom bridge? Federal investigators are trying to determine whether 91-degree heat caused expansion that put too much pressure on the corroded gusset plates that held the I-35W span together.(NEWS)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- October 18, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Byline: Tony Kennedy; Paul McEnroe; Staff Writers
Ten weeks into their probe of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, National Transportation Safety Board investigators have intensified their inspection of a long-corroded gusset plate that was located in the section of the bridge that fell first.
In addition, authorities are analyzing what role the 91-degree heat on Aug. 1 might have played in increasing stress on the already-weakened L-11 gusset plate, which connected four steel beams located near the bridge's south end.
In 1993, a state inspector found that the half-inch gusset plate had lost nearly half of its thickness in some spots due to ...