Bridge @ MindSay

Australian Safety Sign

Please note the area in the bottom left corner that is circled in red.....

Overworked Mouse

Arguing With An Engineer

Arguing with an engineer is a lot like wrestling in the mud with a pig.

After a few hours, you realize that he likes it.

Backhoe & Bridge

Question: A Backhoe weighing 8 tons is on top of a flatbed trailer and heading east on Interstate 70 near Hays, Kansas. The extended shovel arm is made of high tensile steel and the approaching overpass is made of commercial-grade concrete, reinforced with 1 1/2 inch steel rebar spaced at 6 inch intervals in a crisscross pattern layered at 1 foot vertical spacing.

Solve: When the shovel arm hits the overpass, how fast do you have to be going to slice the bridge in half? (Assume no effect for headwind and no braking by the driver...)

Extra Credit: Solve for the time and distance required for the entire rig to come to a complete stop after hitting the overpass at the speed calculated above.

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

Aug. 7, 2007 - Air Force Reserve C-130 Hercules aircraft are rushing equipment needed to rescue six miners trapped in a cave-in in Huntington, Utah, and Navy divers are ready to begin work at the site of the collapsed bridge in Minneapolis.  The Department of Labor asked for the aircraft to move a seismic vehicle, a shelter, an auxiliary truck and a small number of people to Utah. Pentagon officials said two planes and crews from the 911th Airlift Wing, based in Pittsburgh, flew needed equipment to the site today.

The seismic vehicle is to be used to listen for signs of life in the collapsed mine, labor officials said.

In Minneapolis, about 30 Defense Department personnel are working in support of state and local authorities. "The Navy diving detachment is on site and the salvage team consists of 18 personnel and six-man support team," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

The divers, part of Mobile Dive and Salvage Unit 2 in Little Creek, Va., will search for bodies at the disaster scene and move tons of rubble from the bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi River on Aug. 1.

Last night at about 6pm, a bridge collapsed in the cities on 35W over the Mississippi. I've been across that bridge many times, and it scares me that I could've been there. I don't believe in God, but my heart goes out to all the families that have people involved in that. As of right now, there are 4 that were pronounced dead, 79 people were injured, and there are 20 reported missing. There are many cars still underneath the bridge, and it's hard for the divers to get to them because of the currents, but they're doign everything they can to help it move faster.

It really ticks me off when the radio station has something where you can call in and donate or ask questions.....and a fucking lady calls in and asks when they're going to have all the debris out of the river, because there's going to be a rowing competition and her coach is pissed. Well, fuck you! If she had any heart in her little cold body she would've thought about the people that are still down there, and a little common sense would've told her that it's going to take more than a few hours to get the bridge out of there---it's concrete for fuck's sake!

Anyways...

Just pray for those people that are still involved in this.

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