9 thoughts on “Flooded road collapses”

  1. Gil, that isn’t a bad assessment fo the situation, actually.

    But that’s either a 60 or a 72 pipe, usally more than enough to handle a lot of water. In this case, I didn’t see where there was so much water as to do the damage it did, unless the pipe was clogged, which it did appear to be.

    Sara has it right. Water not only moves with good speed, but it has a mass of its own, and it eats dirt.

    If Jon will post it, and I can find it. I have a photo of me standing chest deep in a hole in a four lane road where water undermined the road under the pavement. It took a number of years but the effects were just as dramatic.

    I build bridges for a living, and have done so for 16 years. Water never fails to surprise me, and awe me. There is a very simple rule to follow when you come to a road that has water running over it.

    Don’t.

    You have no idea how much of the ground under the road has already gone missing.

    By the way, if you’re wondering if its worth the risk you’ve never watched anyone put a dead four year old in a body bag.

    Take much Care,
    Mike

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  2. Am I wrong in my suspicion of how the camera was trained on the first break in the bridge? There is a lot of bridge to look at, but the camera seemed to focus on the exact place the first breach happened. Mike, any thoughts?

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  3. Paul, if this is shopped it was done very well, by someone who knows water, and knows roads. Did you notice that some of the dirt under the road was still dry? That happens sometimes in these cases, and if shopped, a nice touch.

    Very likely, if it isn’t a fake, someone noticed the water was washing out the pipe and knew it was just a matter of tiem before the water ate the road. The entire scene unfolded just as I would have expected it to, Paul.

    The whirlpool affect right before the road started going down was due to the water finally breakign through what was holding it back, and I suspect whatever had the pipe filled had caused the water to eat around over, or under the pipe, or maybe a little of it all. Once that was gone, it was pretty much a matter of how quick.

    The way the guardrail posts look, the way the asphalt looks, and the way the water took the road all indicate to me this is very real and someone with a camera knew what they were doing.

    It could be a fake, yes, but if so, it was done by someone who knew a hell of a lot about transportation construction, water, and what happens when the two collide. ( water wins)

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  4. Never underestimate the power of water!

    That bears repeating!

    I once saw an entire section of highway taken out, and put back down in one piece 500 feet away.

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