Another US highway bridge collapses in Missouri State

Another US highway bridge collapses in state of Missouri.

Mon May 27, 2013 10:42AM GMT

accident came over a week after a passenger train derailment in Connecticut that injured 70 people and disrupted service for days. That accident involved a railroad corridor used by tens of thousands of commuters northeast of New York City."

Another US highway bridge has partially collapsed in the state of Missouri reportedly after its support pillars were impacted as a result of a nearby freight train collision.

The collapse of the highway overpass near the town of Chaffee came when rail cars smashed into one of its support pillars after the train collision on Saturday, according to authorities cited in local press reports, which added that seven people in two cars on the overpass were injured when two 40-foot sections of the overpass crushed down.

“You’re driving down the road, and the next thing you know the bridge is not there. … It could have been really bad,” said Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter as quoted in an AP report.

He noted that the 15-year-old bridge, though in good condition, couldn’t withstand the impact of the rail cars.

The collapse occurred after a Union Pacific train struck the side of a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train at a rail intersection, said Sheriff Walter, adding that the derailed train cars then impacted columns supporting the Highway M overpass, causing it to buckle and partially collapse.

According to the report, the derailed freighter cars were loaded with scrap metal, automobiles and auto parts.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has reportedly begun a probe into the cause of the train collision.

The accident came over a week after a passenger train derailment in Connecticut that injured 70 people and disrupted service for days. That accident involved a railroad corridor used by tens of thousands of commuters northeast of New York City.

Further in Washington State last week, a major highway bridge collapsed after a truck driver’s load reportedly bumped into its steel framework.

According to the report, NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt said while official probes into both bridge collapses are in early stages, “there is no similarity” between the Missouri accident and the bridge collapse in Washington State, which sent two vehicles and three people plunging into the chilly water below.

Sumwalt further added that the NTSB investigation to determine a likely cause will include routine testing of railroad employees for drugs and alcohol, testing of the track and rail signals, and an examination of the video footage from the front of the train.

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