Destroyed bridges: causes, the biggest tragedies

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

Bridges across rivers are attributed to the number of important structures of Antiquity. This is a unique design that allows you to cross rivers, gorges and other natural barriers. The construction of bridges in ancient times marked the opening of the wheel. The construction of these facilities contributed to the strengthening of economic relations and army mobility. At the moment, there are many bridges in the world that amaze with their length and splendor. Unfortunately, any structure sooner or later becomes unusable, including bridges.

Why bridges collapse

A broken bridge is a serious incident that can lead to loss of life, a complete h alt to traffic across the river, and great financial hardship. There are many reasons for the failure of a structure, and they all have a different character, but all cases can be divided into three groups:

1. Due to natural disasters such as earthquakes,landslides, floods and others. This group includes about 60% of all accidents.
2. Due to improper construction of structures, defects, mistakes that were made during the construction of bridges. This can also include erroneous or inaccurate design. Such accidents account for about 30% of the total.
3. The remaining 10% of failures were due to improper use of the bridge structure.

Of course, there is a separate rating for the types of bridges. For example, the percentage of accidents and the factors that caused them are very different among metal, reinforced concrete and wood structures.

Hinze Ribeiro Bridge

One of the terrible tragedies occurred in Portugal in 2001. Due to corrosion of the reinforcement of the main beams, the bridge collapsed along with the cars passing at that moment on it. The tragedy claimed the lives of about 60 people. Those who walked along the sidewalk fell into the river, along which transport ships were moving. This tragedy forced the authorities to inspect most of the bridges in Portugal for the presence of the integrity of the iron structural elements. In addition, the families of the dead and injured were promised compensation for the loss.

Bridge in Minneapolis

The tragedy occurred in 2007 in Minneapolis. The bridge collapsed into the water after 10 years of operation. About 70 people were injured, some of them died in the hospital. Those who fell into the water were pulled out by lifeguards. A photo of the destroyed bridgeit is clearly seen that the middle of the structure did not collapse, there was an operation to save people on it. The cause of the destruction of the bridge has not yet been established, but experts are sure that it lies in the construction of the structure in violation of the rules and technologies. The loss of the bridge marked a large financial loss. The village, which he connected with the city, was cut off from the other side.

San Francisco Bridge

One of the worst and most serious incidents in the city for the entire period of its existence. In 1989, there was a magnitude 9 earthquake that knocked out many structures and claimed hundreds of American lives. The double-deck bridge connecting Oakland and San Francisco also collapsed. The structure was erected in 1935 in two months, the norms and standards were almost not observed, but the designers took into account the possible load on the bridge. Insurance companies struggled to pay compensation to victims and relatives of the victims.

Australian Bridge

In 1926, a railway bridge collapsed in the city of Fremantle. The river destroyed the bridge as a result of severe flooding. Designers and designers did not take into account the level of groundwater, because of which the iron supports began to sink to the bottom. During the disaster, a train was moving along the railway, the crew of which managed to unhook and stop the passenger train in time. The train driver managed to jump out of the train at the last moment before it went to the bottom of the river.