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520 bridge sinks in new quake simulation

01:36 PM PDT on Thursday, April 5, 2007

KING Staff

The Evergreen Point Floating Bridge shakes, shudders and breaks apart, sending cars and drivers collapsing into Lake Washington.

At least that's what the Washington State Department of Transportation is showing could happen in the case of a major earthquake.

The Department of Transportation has released two new computer simulations of the 520 bridge's potential demise in the case of a huge temblor or a massive windstorm.

In the quake video, the hollow pillars on the west high rise shake, crack then break apart.  The elevated section of the bridge crashes into Lake Washington.  The pontoons on the floating sections would flood, causing the bridge to sink.

WSDOT

New computer simulations show how the 520 bridge could break-up and sink during a major earthquake or windstorm.

In the windstorm video, 70 mph southerly winds snap chains that anchor the bridge.  The sections drift to the north, causing the pontoons to flood and sink.

The Department of Transportation is posting the simulation on the file sharing site YouTube, in the hopes of getting the word out that improvements need to be made.  The DOT wants to replace the four lane bridge with a six lane alternative, which it says will be safer during earthquakes.

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