8/1/07: The 35W Bridge Collapse

Article by Michael Rainville, Jr.

August 1st, 2007, 5:30pm. A twelve-year-old Michael, along with his family and friends, just sat down to enjoy their last meal at the original location of Totino's Italian Kitchen at 523 Central Avenue NE before the popular restaurant moved to Mounds View. I ordered the usual, mostaccioli with a meatball and a pizza for the table to share, the best pizza I've ever had, I might add. We were reminiscing about the many good memories that have taken place here at the restaurant over the last fifty-six years, from family holiday parties to picking up a couple meatball subs on the way home from work. 

Shortly after we began eating our main course, we noticed emergency vehicles from Columbia Heights, then Forest Lake, then Hudson, Wisconsin hauling it down Central Avenue. We were clueless as to what was going on, but it was obvious something very bad had happened. We asked our waiter if they heard anything, and they said a bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River but didn't know which one. We all thought it was the Stone Arch Bridge, the second oldest continuously used bridge over the entire Mississippi, but word quickly spread that it was the I-35W Bridge.

Photo courtesy of MNHS

Photo of the collapse on the East bank, courtesy of MNHS

I personally took this photo on the East bank near Metal-Matic

The original Interstate 35 West Bridge was completed in 1967, the same year the Silver Bridge in Ohio collapsed and killed forty-six people. At the time, 35W reached South Minneapolis with the rest of its route in the city to be completed in the next ten years. The main use of the new bridge, at first, was as a detour for the 10th Avenue Bridge as the city was debating what to do with it. In 1968, 35W reached the I-94 Commons, and in 1973, the interstate was completed up to the point where I-335 was supposed to connect, between East Hennepin and Broadway, but local neighborhood leaders nixed that plan. Now that the 35W route through Minneapolis was nearing completion, the bridge over the Mississippi River was getting more use. It was built to carry 66,000 vehicles per day, and by 2004, 141,000 vehicles were crossing the bridge each day.

The continuous deck truss bridge was unfortunately designed in a way that if a single portion of the bridge failed, the entire bridge would fail, and that’s exactly what happened on August 1st, 2007, at 6:05pm. At the time, the bridge was in the middle of its third renovation, with previous renovations expanding the total number of lanes from four to eight and adding another 13% of dead weight to the overall structure. During this third renovation in 2007, sand and gravels piles were placed on the bridge deck adding tons of extra weight, and on top of that, it was the middle of rush hour with an estimated 100 vehicles on the bridge at the time it collapsed. At 6:05pm, one of the gusset plates, which holds the metal truss beams together, folded in half like a piece of paper as they were half as thick as necessary for the structure, and the entire bridge fell straight down into the Mississippi River.

One of the gusset plates, courtesy of MNHS

August 1st, 2007, 6:55pm. We arrived back home from Totino’s and my father and I, along with a neighbor, decided to ride our bicycles to the middle of the Stone Arch Bridge to witness the scene. There were rumblings that it could have been a terrorist attack, so local authorities ushered everyone off the bridge. We made our way to Second Street SE and followed the crowd. Police tape stopped the crowd at Eight Avenue SE, so we stopped for a bit and continued to the overpass bridge on University Avenue before making our way to the Third Avenue Bridge and back home. A day we will never forget.

Heroic efforts by civilians and off-duty and on duty first responders saved 144 people from the wreckage, and sadly, thirteen people passed away. One of the many stories of heroism from that evening involved a school bus transporting fifty-two children. As the bus was teetering on a section of the bridge, a staff member on board, Jeremy Hernandez, made sure every child safely exited the bus through the back door and off the bridge. That very door is currently on display at the Minnesota History Center in Saint Paul in a small section dedicated to the history of the bridge collapse.

The school bus door with the signatures of those who were inside the bus, courtesy of MNHS

A memorial for the victims and survivors of the collapse is located along West River Parkway, across from Gold Medal Park, and it features thirteen pillars with the names of the victims on them and a wall behind the pillars listing the survivors of the catastrophic event.

The 35W Memorial, courtesy of kmfiswriting.com

Construction of the new and current 35W Bridge, also known as the Saint Anthony Falls Bridge, began on December 17th, 2007, and was complete on September 18th, 2008, three months ahead of schedule. This $234 million bridge was equipped with a state-of-the-art de-icing system, 323 sensors that monitor the condition of the bridge, and LED lights that illuminate the deck and undercarriage of the bridge. The lights underneath even change colors for special occasions: purple for the anniversary of Prince’s death, rainbow for Pride, red, white, and blue for the Fourth of July, green for Eid al-Fitr, orange for Halloween, and purple and gold when the Vikings finally win the Super Bowl…

The current bridge at night, courtesy of MnDOT

Fifteen years ago, a tragic catastrophe happened in our city of Minneapolis. The community came together, and everyday citizens became heroes. I encourage you all to pay a visit to the I-35W Bridge Memorial this month and reflect. Find those memories of where you were when you first found out, think of those who were courageous enough to risk it all to save the people who were on the bridge that day, and remember those who perished on August 1st, 2007. 

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About Michael Rainville, Jr.

A 6th generation Minneapolitan, Michael Rainville Jr. received his B.A. in History and M.A. in Art History and Museum Studies from the University of St. Thomas. Michael is also a historic interpreter and guide at Historic Fort Snelling at Bdote and the Minnesota History Center. Additionally, he has been a lead guide at Mobile Entertainment LLC, giving Segway tours of the Minneapolis riverfront for 10+ years.

Contact: mrainvillejr@comcast.net. Click here for an interactive map of Michael's past articles.