Bridge Failure Recalls Oklahoma I-40 Collapse

Thursday, August 2nd 2007, 10:11 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The deadly collapse of a bridge in Minneapolis comes more than five years after Oklahoma went through a similar experience with the Interstate 40 span near Webbers Falls. As many as 30 people were missing after the eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, collapsed into the Mississippi River during the evening rush hour Wednesday. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

On May 26, 2002, 14 people died after barges pushed by a towboat crashed into the I-40 bridge in far eastern Oklahoma, causing a 500-foot span to collapse into the muddy Arkansas River. Crews working around the clock were able to repair the bridge in about two months.

The state now plans to replace or improve more than 800 bridges during the next eight years.

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