Canada Has Been Cut In Half!

MossRoad · Jan 12, 2016

Ontario's Nipigon River bridge fails, severing Trans-Canada Highway - Thunder Bay - CBC News

California · Jan 12, 2016

Looks like it's partially open, for alternating one way traffic.

One theory I haven't seen yet: After a new bridge near Seattle failed spectacularly around 1940, analysis led to the conclusion that wind caused that bridge to flutter in the same manner that airplane wings are designed to avoid. In that bridge, the flutter built up into harmonic waves and the bridge destroyed itself over several minutes. Video.

In the article you linked, a witness said this bridge pulled away from its abutment during/after a big gust of wind. I wonder if what she saw was an aerodynamic-lift effect, tugging the deck away from its abutment.

Comments in that CBC article suggested the suspension bridge's cables shortened in the cold but surely the designers planned for that ... hopefully?

Thomas · Jan 12, 2016

Going to be lot life changes now.

RobS · Jan 12, 2016

Looks like the bridge deck lifted from the winds and shifted laterally so it no longer lines up with the expansion joints. Sounds like an expensive problem to have!

oosik · Jan 12, 2016

Kind of a tough time of year to make repairs in a rather remote location. It will be interesting to see what the final report says about the cause of the failure.

sixdogs · Jan 12, 2016

Wow, that's a problem. It's a long way around for a detour.

Canada has some brilliant true grit type people that have a streak of redneck in them. However gargantuan that problem is--and it is--I bet it's fixed faster than you would expect. They'll work 24/7 with a small army and I'll bet unveil some unconventional methods that gets it done.

GPintheMitten · Jan 12, 2016

Long way around but come through Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Looking4new · Jan 12, 2016

According to the news reports I've seen, the bolts that hold the deck to the pilings broke. 1300 trucks a day go through Nipigon and use that bridge. About 25% of the trucks cannot go through the 'states. they are too long, have too many axles and are too heavy. My truck and trains I can take into Michigan, but that is all and I don't have the spreads to legal what I haul in MI. I can legally payload 90,000lbs up here. That is 10,000lbs more than the US allows gross on the interstate system.