35W Bridge Collapse

http://flickr.com/photos/s4xton/sets/72157601157770382/

These photos are unreal. Having driven over this bridge literally thousands of times, it definitely hits home. Especially considering the what ifs. What if my wife would have left work just a bit later than usual that day and her bus drove over the bridge at 6:00 instead of 5:00? Or what if I hadn't exited before the bridge since I was running late on my way downtown Wednesday? The last 3-4 times I've driven down for the Hill Ride on Wednesday evenings, I've pretty much flipped a coin as to whether or not I should take 35W to downtown or take 280. The last time I took the bridge, traffic crept from University to the Hiawatha exit, so this time since it was already 5:45, I decided to exit on 280. I made it across the river on Franklin Ave right about 6:00. God only knows what would have happened if I had just kept going south on 35W, just as I had so many times before.

On our ride, I kept hearing people's cell phones ringing, but thought nothing of it. Heard lots of sirens, thought nothing of it. When we rolled back to Minneapolis on River Road and saw masses of people out walking, I thought there must be some kind of event going on. Once back at the Birchwood at about 8:00 I heard the bridge had collapsed and there were dozens of cars in the river. As I made my way out of Seward and across Lake Street I saw entire neighborhoods gathered in front yards listening to their radios. State Patrol was out in force on 35W north of 36, shutting down the freeway and setting up detours. My cell phone was useless with the volume of calls, and Jen was at home wondering for 3 hours which way I had taken downtown.

I got home around 9:00 and Jen gave me a big hug when I walked in the door. I saw the footage on TV and then heard what time it happened. That's when it all began to sink in. Absolutely insane.