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I-35W Bridge Collapse
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Photo from under the I-35W structure. | |
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Profile shot of I-35W structure. | |
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Photo of the deck of the I-35W bridge. | |
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Photo of I-35W bridge under the arch of the 1929 10th Avenue Bridge. |
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Close-up of the south end west side main bridge pier. | |
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November 2006 view of the south end east side bridge structure, where the collapse is thought to have started. |
I-35W Bridge Looking West
The Red Cross building is that parking lot where slider bar covers the picture. The building next to the slider bar is the former Minnegasco gas plant, now Centerpoint Energy. Just off the left side is the former US Army Math research building, now a U of M building. The road under the bridge is the west river parkway.
On the right side, the building just above the bridge is a U of M physics lab, which formerly housed the Tandem Accelerator experiment and nuclear research labs. To the right of the photos starts the student housing area for the U of M campus.
The large flat area to the right of the dam is the site of another twin cities disaster. This was a Northern States Power Company power plant for decades. The building was undercut by water, but nobody noticed. The building unexpectedly collapsed in the late 1980's. The building was removed, and this flat piece of dirt is all that is left. Several groups are still trying to get hydropower back into the lower dam area. The long concrete box next to the rushing water is the boat lock. It raises boats and barges 24 feet. The lock just upstream raises boats another 48 feet.
I-35W Bridge Looking East
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Authored by John A. Weeks III, Copyright © 1996—2016, all rights reserved. For further information, contact: john@johnweeks.com
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