[TheForge] Re: OLD bridge collapse north of Baltimore

[Mike Spencer]

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E1MUxI3nlk

There was a bridge of similar age, size and construction in Petite
Riviere, NS, also surely old enough to be wrought iron -- 1880s I think.

In 2002, a log truck with an unsecured hydraulic loading boom rounded
the sharp curve just before the bridge and entered the bridge's single
lane.  The boom swung around and trashed one of the trusses.  Bridge
and truck ended up in the Petite River.  Driver unharmed, alert
passer-by spotted a rowboat nearby and rescued the driver.

That interrupted a lot of local traffic.  The work-around was a
narrow, poorly maintained gravel road along the edge of a ravine with
no guard rails and too narrow for two full-sized cars to pass
abreast.  For something like a year, there were temporary traffic
lights at either end of that bypass.

I tried to get a few pieces of the smaller components to make some
souvenirs for friends but the entire wreckage was moved to a
provincial highway dept. staging area.  They didn't want to part with
a single piece until the investigating engineers had done their thing.
The resulting red tape was more than I wanted to cope with.

There are probably pics on the web if you gwgl enough.