It can't happen here -- can it?
There's a big, dangerous design problem with a new bridge in The Real Vancouver -- and jeepers, that bridge design looks awfully familiar. Where have we seen that one before?
| Posted at 9:45 AM | Permalink |
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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on December 27, 2012 9:45 AM.
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Comments (13)
Global warming will take care of this for us.
Posted by Allan. | December 27, 2012 10:01 AM
Our bridge will be for light rail, busses and bicycles only. If a few bicyclists get speared by falling ice cycles it won’t matter, we have more of them than we need anyway.
Posted by John Benton | December 27, 2012 10:19 AM
Lovely, just drove over that bridge three weeks ago while on sales calls in Vancouver.
Posted by PDXileinOmaha | December 27, 2012 10:28 AM
But if a chunk of ice falls on a cyclist's head or on a MAX train or Streetcar, expect government to immediately take decisive action in the form of expensive no-bid immediate emergency contracts.
If, on the other hand, the chunk of ice falls on a bus, TriMet will just re-route the buses off the bridge on a 17 mile detour, then claim "nobody rides the buses" and eliminate the service altogether.
Thank God for our Marquam and Glenn Jackson Bridges...ice doesn't really form above the lower deck, and there isn't much above the upper deck for ice to fall from - and of course the Glenn Jackson has nothing above anyone (except a few signs)...unlike...say the Broadway, Steel or Hawthorne Bridges. Or the Fremont or St. Johns Bridges, or the Interstate Bridge.
Posted by Erik H. | December 27, 2012 10:30 AM
Is there a functional aspect to that hideous cable stay design? I ask because it seems like all proposed bridges are considered "ugly" by the hipster set unless it looks exactly like that.
Posted by Frank the Tank | December 27, 2012 10:30 AM
Ice is a mega problem in Portland last I checked, especially given that its 40-some degrees all the time here. Poo-poo-ing Portland fail
Posted by BallaBo | December 27, 2012 10:36 AM
MAX wasn't built to operate in weather that's too hot or too cold and already gets shut down anyways. Portland officials will simply close any bridge that has similar problems during inclement weather.
Posted by Mr. Grumpy | December 27, 2012 10:55 AM
I don't think they actually have the same problem. Vancouver has a single central column and the cables pass over the roadway. The LR bridge has twin side columns and the cables don't pass over the roadway. To me, it looks no worse than the Steel, St Johns or Fremont bridges.
Posted by ITGuy | December 27, 2012 11:00 AM
If a giant ice chunk fell on an empty streetcar, would anyone notice?
Posted by MachineShedFred | December 27, 2012 11:08 AM
If a chunk of ice falls on a cyclist's head, would the cyclist notice?
Posted by cc | December 27, 2012 11:22 AM
Boston has a bridge like that; they have plenty of winter weather. Have they had that issue?
Posted by talea | December 27, 2012 11:55 AM
I recall hearing the Astoria Bridge was closed for that problem some years back.
Posted by Sam T. | December 27, 2012 12:10 PM
Who cares? No private cars will get hit.
Posted by Steve | December 27, 2012 1:58 PM