I don't like the way this sounds. This is I-10. It is a main line infrastructure for the economy of southern California. The base, better said foundation, of this bridge didn't do it's job. The areas of any Interstate that have received significant rain and flooding has to be assessed for potential to collapse. That is not just southern California, it is the entire country where flooding and strong winds and rain has occurred.This occurrence is a warning.
We lucked out on this one.
Considering where the collapse occurred, it looks like erosion. The side of the bridge can be noted in the right side of the picture. Part of a bridge collapsed on the 10 Freeway in Riverside County, trapping the driver and forcing the closure of both sides of the highway on Sunday, July 19, 2015. Photo credit: Courtesy of KMIR
Check for erosion that is sometimes called 'scour.' The land under the supports has to be solid. If the supports are in good condition and the land underneath is solid and the bridge still collapsed, then take a look at the bridge laws and whether or not the added torrential rain provided too much for the weight limits. It might be that part of rain preparation means removing one land of traffic over these spans to reduce the chance of exceeding the bridge laws when torrential rains occur. Water is heavy.
July 20, 2015
An elevated section of Interstate 10 collapsed (click here) Sunday amid heavy rains in a remote desert area of California,
cutting off traffic between the state and Arizona and leaving a driver
injured.
The
Tex Wash bridge in Desert Center, which carries the eastbound
interstate about 15 feet above a normally dry wash west of the Arizona
state line, snapped and washed away in flooding water below, the
California Highway Patrol said....
