Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl, Ph.D., P.E.
(www.ce.berkeley.edu/~astaneh) and (www.astaneh.net)
Professor and Consultant on Structural Engineering,
Earthquake engineering and Blast and
Impact Protection of Buildings and Bridges

THE I-35W BRIDGE COLLAPSE

Important Items:

1. Was the gusset plates "U10" the main culprit in the collapse?

2. Was the construction activities and equipment a contributor to the tragic collapse of the I-35W?

3. Could the tragic collapse be predicted prior to the collapse and the tragedy be prevented?

4. The case of DeSoto bridge gusset failure as it related to the tragic collapse of I35W

5.The case of I-95E gusset plate failure as it related to the tragic collapse of I-35W.

6.An objective and critical review of the NTSB's ongoing investigation into the tragic collapse of the I-35W (to be posted soon).

7. An objective and critical review of the 'Fracture critical" studies done by the URS corporation prior to collapse of the I-35W done for MN DoT (to be posted soon).

8. An objective and critical review of the effects of ongoing construction activities by PCI and the material and equipment placed on the bridge on the collapse (to be posted)

9. An objective and critical review of MN DoT's maintanence and inspection regemes prior to collapse (to be posted soon).

10. An objective and critical review of the fatigue studies of the I-35W done prior to collapse by the University of Minnesota researchers fro MN DoT..

11. An objective and critical review of the FHWA policies regarding retrofit of "structurally dificient" bridges.

12. An objective and critical review of the " National Bridge Inventory Rating System".

13. The replacement bridge-is it a good option specially from safety and functionality points of view?

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