Comments on: Engineer’s Greatest Fear

By: Justin

Justin — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 19:36:25 +0000

Hey, what about the guy from Transport Quebec who was there 40 or so minutes previously and did not close the overpass.. He’s gotta be feeling a tad guilty now..

By: Laiya

Laiya — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 14:52:26 +0000

They say that the most likely cause in this case was rust that formed on the cables inside the cement as a result of all the salting required during the Winter. However, when a chunk of the du Souvenir overpass fell off, the coroner’s inquest presented a scathing report of engineering errors throughout construction of that particular viaduct. However, after this investigation is through, I get the feeling that all the engineers’ recommendations in the world won’t stop something like this happening again unless there’s money to be put into repairs. When something like this happens, you think about all the little ways or big ways in which tax money can be squandered, letting priorities fall to the wayside.

By: mare

mare — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 13:23:23 +0000

Every time I drive under overpasses that have nets under them (like the ones near the Champlain Bridge) to catch the falling, crumbling concrete, I wait for disaster to happen. But there’s no money to really fix the abismal roads and overpasses, so patching is all they do. Until it falls down. Then there will be investigations, a few heads will roll, and then we can wait until the next disaster.

By: sherry

sherry — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 04:44:22 +0000

It’s not a position I would want to be in. Thank you for mentioning this. I think I’ve been so angry at Transports Quebec for not taking more time to inspect the reasons as to why concrete was falling from the overpass an hour before its collapse that I hadn’t stopped to think how much of a sinking feeling it would be to see something you built had inadvertently killed people.