Until March 16, everything was coming together very nicely on the new bridge at 102nd Avenue over Groat Road in Edmonton, Alberta. Two days earlier, the crew from fabricator and erector Supreme Steel had placed and bolted the first of seven central girder sections that would complete the span. Winds interrupted work for awhile, but by Sunday night crews resumed girder placement until six sections were up. Then, at about 2:15 a.m. on Monday, March 16, four of the girders buckled laterally, three deflecting several feet and leaving interior braces bent or dangling, according to city officials. Work stopped and crisis management began.
"We don't see many of these types of failure," said Carlos Cruz Noguez, assistant professor of structural engineering at the University of Alberta.