Little is known about the condition of an underground cutoff wall the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed in 1876 that is keeping St. Anthony Falls in place.
An NTSB investigation revealed design flaw was the cause; tragedy brought political pressure to fund statewide infrastructure. Written By: Steve Gardiner | ×
A helicopter hovers over what was the steel-arched Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis Aug. 1, 2007. It rose 64 feet above the Mississippi River and stretched 1,900 feet across the water. Photo by Stacy Bengs
It was rush hour on a Wednesday just after 6 p.m. on Aug. 1, 2007 on the Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River near the University of Minnesota. The bridge, which handled 140,000 vehicles per day, was scheduled for some repair work, so heavy construction equipment and materials were loaded onto the bridge.