1. I-35 W Mississippi River Bridge

Donated by: Minnesota Department of Transportation
Original Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Built: 1967
Collapsed on: August 1, 2007
Donated to SBRITE: October 2013

Structure Type: Deck Truss
Longest span: 456 ft
Total Bridge Length: 1907 ft
Deck Width: 108 ft

The I-35W Mississippi River Bridge (officially named “Bridge 9340”) was designed by Sverdrup & Parcel and opened to traffic in 1967. It carried Interstate 35W over the Saint Anthony Falls of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its unique 456 ft steel arch span was designed so that piers would not be constructed in the river and impede river navigation.

Click the image above to view a PDF version of the timeline

On August 1st, 2007 at approximately 6:30 PM, the bridge collapsed under the load of rush hour traffic along with construction materials and equipment. 111 vehicles and 18 construction workers fell from the bridge during the collapse and resulted in 13 deaths. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board determined that the cause of the collapse was the buckling failure of several gusset plates. The combination of undersized gusset plates, the addition of 2 inches of concrete to the bridge deck had increased the dead load by 20%, and the estimated 575,000 pounds of construction materials/equipment had instigated the buckling.

A number of items from the bridge were donated by the Minnesota DOT, including a U10 joint, bearings, and various other components from the bridge.