"There was no sign indicating the bridge's height, she said."

[pugetres]

2. How many strikes does it take to make a bridge collapse?

I'm not sure how to post external text but here is a bit that my boyfriend alerted me to this morning:

Officials performed a special inspection six months ago of the bridge that collapsed because there were indications it had been struck by a different vehicle.

A report released Friday says the checkup was done due to 'impact damage,' and inspectors identified tears, deformations and gouges on the northbound side of the bridge. The report also summarizes a variety of parts on the bridge that have been subjected to 'high-load' hits.

In that Nov. 29, 2012, impact, an overheight truck struck a metal overhead truss on the bridge, DOT spokeswoman Broch Bender said. An inspection crew 'thoroughly investigated and determined the bridge to be safe,' with only minor repairs required. She said those minor repairs were added to an existing list of bridge maintenance items to be completed at a future date.

[link:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2330760/Washington-Bridge-collapse-Trucker-describes-moment-disaster-unraveled.html|

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2330760/Washington-Bridge-collapse-Trucker-describes-moment-disaster-unraveled.html

It appears that the state gave the ok for the over-sized load to take that route knowing that the structure wasn't high enough and also knowing that the bridge was already damaged and slated for repair(s)...