"Pete C." wrote in message
...
JR North wrote:

I don't think I buy it. Follow the money and find where the payola is
squashing the real cause. How old was that bridge? 45-50 something?.
More likely scenario: the construction gang on the span at the time of
collapse-"Hey Boss-I done pulled thet pin yoo toll me two..."
"NOT *THAT* PIN!!!!AAAAGGGHHHHH............."
JR
Dweller in the cellar

Certainly a possibility.

More likely the bridge was engineered correctly at first, and somewhere
in the drafting to the final plans the gusset size was misapplied as
"half this thickness per side", instead of "this thickness per side" and
then the construction crew didn't mention to the engineer that the
thickness was half of what they were used to from other bridges.

More likely, the construction crew mentioned it to the manager, he told his
manager, who ignored it. In my experience, the guys on the front lines of
any business spot a potentially huge problem and report it, the message
never reaches anyone who can do anything about it. I've worked in a variety
of industries and from what I've seen, this is pretty much universal. I
have no idea why.