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Despite the conventional wisdom that the collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis was the result of aging and neglected infrastructure, the NTSB has determined the actual cause to be more fundamental. Steel gusset plates - the plates used to connect the large bridge beams together - were designed too small for the loads. They should have been about twice as thick as they were designed. The collapse was then caused by construction loads - loads well within the stated capability of the bridge - that fractured one of the plates resulting in the rapid failure of multiple additional plates and collapse.
Minneapolis Star Tribune 11/14/08
Minneapolis Star Tribune 11/14/08
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