Bridge Disasters

Technical literature about bridge failures

1. ITI topical bibliography for bridge disasters
   • None available at this time

Famous and not-so-famous bridge disasters

1. Almö Bridge (1980)
   Location: Stenungsund (Tjörn/Bohuslän), Sweden.
   Cause of failure: rammed by a ship and in the hour
   See http://home.swipnet.se/~w-44095/almobron/almobron.htm (in Swedish)

2. Ashtabula Bridge (1876)
   Location: Ashtabula, OH
   Cause of failure: Fatigue crack/inadequate inspection

3. Falls View Bridge (1938)
   Location: Niagra Falls, NY
   Cause of failure: Inadequate stability of the foundation

4. I-5 Arroyo Pasajero Twin Bridges (March 1995)
   Location: Coalinga, CA
   Cause of failure: Scour

5. King Street Bridge (1962)
   Location: Yarra River
   Cause of failure: Poor steel selection/poor design

6. Mianus River Bridge (1983)
   Location: Mianus River, CT
   Cause of failure: Pin failure/inadequate inspection

7. Peace River Bridge (1957)
   Location: Alcan Highway, British Columbia
   Cause of failure: Movement of anchorages on footings which were not fixed properly

8. Point Pleasant Bridge - Silver Bridge (1967)
   Location: Point Pleasant, WV
   Cause of failure: Eye-bar fracture; Inadequate inspection

9. Quebec Bridge (1907, 1916)
   Location: St. Lawrence River
   Cause of failure: Design flaw

10. Sando Arch (1939)
    Location: Sando, Sweden
    Cause of failure: Poor design of timber forms
    See: Failures in civil engineering (ASCE, 1995), p. 39, and http://w1.601.telia.com/~u60105008/adalen_1.html#Sandobron (in Swedish).

11. San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge (1989)
    Location: San Francisco, CA
    Cause of failure: Earthquake

12. Schoharie Creek Bridge (1987)
    Location: Schoharie Creek (NY)
    Cause of failure: Scour of footings

13. Second Narrows Bridge (1958)
    Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
    Cause of failure: Design flaw

14. Tacoma-Narrows Bridge (1940)
    Location: Tacoma Narrows, WA
    Cause of failure: Wind forces

15. Tay Bridge (1879)
    Location: Dundee, Scotland
    Cause of failure: Wind forces/inspection problems

16. Walnut Street Bridge (Jan. 1996)
    Courtesy of Ron McDonel (Third Wave Development)
    Location: Harrisburg, PA
    Cause of failure: Scour due to flooding

17. Westgate Bridge (1970)
    Location: Melbourne, Australia
    Cause of failure: Construction errors

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Last updated: June 18, 2007    © 2005 Infrastructure Technology Institute