Bridge collapses in Canada

On Saturday, Sept. 30, a highway overpass near Laval, Quebec, Canada, collapsed, killing 5 people trapped in vehicles beneath the bridge. According to news reports, Transport Quebec officials had inspected the overpass at 11:58 a.m. that morning after receiving calls reporting debris falling from the structure. New debris was reported at 12:33 p.m.; the 36-year-old overpass collapsed at 12:37 p.m. The Ottawa Sun reported that transportation officials plan to dismantle a second overpass on the same stretch of highway that was built at the same time as the collapsed bridge and that shares the same design. According to CBC News, in a report issued in 2003, the Quebec Ministry of Transportation claimed that 55 percent of the province’s bridges were safe, but it wasn’t sure about the other 45 percent.