Portal:Minnesota/Selected article/2

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The I-35W Mississippi River bridge was an eight-lane, 1,907 feet (581 m) steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Completed in 1967 and maintained by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT), the bridge was Minnesota's fifth–busiest, carrying 140,000 vehicles daily.

At 6:05 pm on Wednesday, August 1, 2007, during the evening rush hour, the main spans of the bridge collapsed, falling into the river and its banks. Thirteen people died and approximately one hundred more were injured. Immediately after the collapse help came from mutual aid in the seven-county metropolitan area and a multitude of civilians, hospitals, volunteers and agencies. City and county employees managed the rescue using post–9/11 techniques and technology that may have saved lives. As of early 2008, the NTSB has not reached a determination of probable cause for the collapse, but has identified a possible design error from when the bridge was originally built, which may have caused or contributed to the failure.

President of the United States George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, the Secretary of Transportation, Minnesota's United States senators and representatives, and the media traveled to the wreckage during the rescue and recovery. The Federal Government provided funds to help with the costs associated with the collapse and the US SBA offered low-interest loans for those small businesses affected by the collapse.

Within a few days of the collapse, the Minnesota Department of Transportation began planning a replacement bridge, which was subsequently named the St. Anthony Falls (35W) Bridge.