An anonymous source leaked this raw security camera footage ^[1] of the Minneapolis bridge collapse to CNN early this morning. You can see the first section fall, the river’s splash and then the second portion fall. Unbelievable. I haven’t found this on YouTube yet, but here’s the KARE 11 link ^[1]. Here’s the better CNN link ^[2].

I’m sure the extensive DOT traffic camera system ^[3] has similar footage that will eventually be released.

UPDATE (8:17 A.M.) I’ll post City of Minneapolis traffic update ^[4]after the jump…

UPDATE (8:45 A.M.) LiveLeak rescues us from Windows Media Player hell…link ^[5]

UPDATE (8:59 A.M.) President Bush will be speaking within the hour. First Lady Laura Bush will be here by tomorrow to tour the site. Meanwhile, Daily Kos has this report: Bush: ‘We’re at war with gravity’ ^[6]

UPDATE (9:56 A.M.) Bush pronounces Gov. Pawlenty’s name as “Paw-lem-tay.” Expressed concern, said federal government “must respond robustly” and is now using this press conference to scold Congress about not moving forward with spending bill legislation. Tying spending priorities and discretionary spending to a bridge collapse = not exactly tactful.

UPDATE (9:59 A.M.) Fox News, MSNBC and all local affiliates just cut away from the live feed as he got more political. CNN stayed with it for a few more minutes and is now cutting away. Everyone is ignoring everything else Bush is talking about.

UPDATE (10:10 A.M.) Transportation Secretary Mary Peters is now onsite. “We plan to expedite federal financial assistance.” Announces $5 million dollars to establish new traffic routes and assist with clean-up.

UPDATE (10:19 A.M.) Senator Coleman: “I was Mayor of St. Paul on 9/11.” Talks about how we weren’t prepared for crises back then but are now.
Senator Amy Klobuchar: “A bridge in America just shouldn’t fall down…If necessary we will work to pass a law to change the [$100 million dollar aid] cap.”
Congressman Ellison: All of your MN congressmen will work together (for once?). “We’re going to face this tragedy bravely, as we always do.”

UPDATE: (10:28 A.M.) The media frenzy is just getting started, my fellow Twin Citizens…My CBSNews e-mail alert says: “Katie Couric [wil] anchor the
Evening News ^[7] broadcast tonight from Minneapolis at 6:30 p.m. ET.” NBC’s Brian Williams will also be in Minneapolis ^[8] . I can’t tell if Charlie ^[9]’s coming, too. It’s basically the RNC ^[10] dress rehearsal!

UPDATE (11:13 A.M.) Hennepin County Sheriff: “We consider this a crime scene until we know what happened.” Boats and 15 divers are back on the scene as of 10:45. No new survivors expected. Structure at this point is highly unstable for further rescue, but they’ll continue to recover.

UPDATE (11:32 a.m.) Governor Tim Pawlenty: Creating enhanced bus service and park n’ rides to help soften impact on U of MN commuters.

Also, Metroblogging Minneapolis Author ^[11] Erica was just interviewed by NPR’s Jon Gordon ^[12] for piece on how new media (i.e. blogs like this one) contributed to communication in wake of event.

UPDATE (12:08 P.M.) Charlie Gibson will also air his ABC World News Tonight ^[13] newscast in Minneapolis tonight. Thought this was interesting: CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and our local ABC, Fox and CBS affiliates are all still doing wall-to-wall bridge collapse coverage. Our local NBC affiliate switched over to the Today show right when it started — with a riveting interview with Matt Damon about his inability to rank in the People’s Sexiest Man title ^[14]. I checked in a little later, and Martha Stewart was baking a pie. I guess we know where KARE-11 ^[15] stands in priorities.

UPDATE (1:44 PM) Received this animated gif ^[16] from DC Metroblogging Author Paulo ^[17], trimmed and accelerated to remove the pauses. Unfortunately, it’s too large a file for Metroblogging to allow us to post it. Meanwhile, Aaron Landry ^[18], a noted local new media guru/junkie, has been interviewed by Fox News, Time, Pioneer Press, MSNBC, Wikinews, American Public Media, ENR.com and others today about his posting of Noah Kunin’s ^[19] photos on Flickr and liveblogging ^[20] from within the “danger zone.” Julio Ojeda-Zapata ^[21] at the PiPress is also working on a story about how new media was in playing during and following the aftermath of the collapse.

UPDATE (3:47 P.M.) NTSB spokesman says they will not need to rebuild bridge. Apparently the video has signficantly aided their investigation, and they have some new software to help reconstruct the scene using key data points.

Check out old imagery of the bridge via Google Earth ^[22]. The location data is Latitude – 44°58′44.70″N and Longitude – 93°14′41.55″W

Louisiana legislators are taking advantage ^[23] of public outcry regarding ailing transportation infrastructure across the country.

Stephen Flynn ^[24] has a Popular Mechanics column ^[25] with his view of how the “U.S. has been squandering its infrastructure legacy by turning a reckless blind eye to critical upgrades…”

The fact is that Americans have been squandering the infrastructure legacy bequeathed to us by earlier generations. Like the spoiled offspring of well-off parents, we behave as though we have no idea what is required to sustain the quality of our daily lives. Our electricity comes to us via a decades-old system of power generators, transformers and transmission lines–a system that has utility executives holding their collective breath on every hot day in July and August. We once had a transportation system that was the envy of the world. Now we are better known for our congested highways, second-rate ports, third-rate passenger trains and a primitive air traffic control system. Many of the great public works projects of the 20th century–dams and canal locks, bridges and tunnels, aquifers and aqueducts, and even the Eisenhower interstate highway system–are at or beyond their designed life span.

Also, this guy ^[26]says be wary of Minneapolis Bridge Fundraising Scams…geez…less than 24 hours and there scammers are about!

UPDATE (4:13 P.M.) The I-35W Mississippi River Bridge ^[27] entry on Wikipedia has been edited/changed 44 times since 11:30 p.m. last night!

UPDATE (5:39 P.M.)President Bush will be touring the site ^[28]on Saturday. It’s surreal to see all three major network anchors broadcasting live from Minneapolis on tonight’s 5:30 evening news. CNN has Anderson Cooper and Fox News has Shepard Smith and Greta Van Susteren, too. Now that they’ve had almost 24 hours to work them up, the 3D models on TV are simply amazing — particularly the ABC News Virtual View.

Fox and CNN have both relied on citizen journalist reports, photos and videos –Fox calls them uReports ^[29] while CNN has I-Reports ^[30]. I think it’s a fantastic blend of mainstream media and user-generated content.

City of Minneapolis traffic update ^[4]

MnDOT, City of Minneapolis announce major traffic changes due to bridge collapse

Traffic will be diverted due to the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River, and drivers should expect delays.
Hwy 280 is primary I-35W detour

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is making Minnesota Highway 280 the primary route to replace northbound and southbound I-35W traffic. It will carry traffic from I-35W in Roseville to Interstate 94.

To prevent traffic snarls, Highway 280 will be converted to a temporary freeway with no traffic signals. The change means Broadway Avenue and County Road B will no longer have access to the highway, and the lights at these intersections will stay green for the highway.

North of the collapsed bridge, traffic on I-35W will stop at the Stinson/New Brighton Boulevard exits. South of the bridge, all northbound I-35W traffic will be forced to exit onto eastbound I-94.

In addition to these changes, the ramp from Hennepin Avenue to Southbound I-35W will be closed to traffic.
Leaving downtown Minneapolis

Drivers wanting to leave downtown Minneapolis have two main routes:

· Fourth Avenue South, which feeds onto southbound I-35W; and

· Third Street West, which feeds onto Interstate 394 or I-94 westbound.

Drivers should avoid Washington Avenue.

Please be advised that there may be more changes to this transportation plan. The situation may change to accommodate traffic patterns.
Road closures due to bridge collapse

The City of Minneapolis has announced the closure of the following roads due to collapse of the I-35W bridge across the Mississippi River:

WEST RIVER PARKWAY
Closed between 13th Ave S to 1st St S
Local access only between 11th Ave and 13th Ave S
Local access between 4th St and 1st St S

2nd STREET SE
Closed between 8th Ave SE to 11th Ave SE
Local access between 3rd Ave SE and 8th Ave SE
Local access only on 11th Ave SE between University Ave and 2nd St SE

10th AVENUE BRIDGE
Closed between University Ave. SE to 2nd St. South
Local access to gas station at University Ave SE
Local access between 2nd St S and Washington Ave.

BROADWAY ST NE
Closed at TH280 Eastbound and Westbound
Local access from Industrial Blvd to the TH 280 closure

August 2, 2007 3 a.m.