ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: On August 1st, 2007, the bridge carrying the Interstate Highway I35W over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota collapsed unexpectedly, plunging the afternoon rush-hour traffic down with the bridge. Traffic management cameras recorded the demise of the bridge, leaving the whole world witness. The collapse left everyone wondering how something like this can happen, and questioned the safety of driving over any bridge. These thoughts presented a need to be answered by the bridge engineering community. This paper is an attempt to provide a personal response, as an engineer, to the questions of why bridges collapse, and what engineers should do about it within the context of what is already being done.
