Interstate 35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

 bridge, notable by news

The Interstate 35W Mississippi River Bridge refers to two bridges crossing the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States.

The original I-35W Mississippi River Bridge was an 8-lane (originally 6-lane) truss arch structure that was built from 1964 to 1967. On August 1, 2007, it suddenly collapsed, killing 13 and injuring 145. By the 2000s decade, it had become a congested bottleneck that was undergoing general repair when the collapse took place. The collapse was caused by a design defect in the original bridge that used gusset plates that were too thin to support the required loads. Decades of inspections failed to notice the problem until it was too late.

Its replacement, the I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge, is a 10-lane post-tension precast concrete box girder bridge. The planning, design, and construction processes were completed faster than usual because I-35W is a critical artery for commuters and truck freight. The bridge was constructed from October 2007 to September 2008 at a cost of US$234,000,000. The bridge has a total length of 1,216 ft (371 m) (with a main span of 504 ft (154 m)), a width of 180 ft (55 m), and a clearance of 70 ft (21 m).

Wikipedia link for original bridge: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Mississippi_River_bridge