Minnesota Bridge Collapse Still Reverberates Ten Years Later

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Ten years ago Tuesday, a bridge on a busy freeway collapsed without warning into the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis during the evening rush hour.

The disaster killed 13 people and injured 145. Many leaders saw it as a wake-up call about the country's deteriorating infrastructure. It changed the bridge industry and helped spur states into catching up on their bridge maintenance backlogs, even though the main cause ultimately turned out to be a design defect.

Minneapolis is taking a low-key approach to the anniversary. Leaders will hold a ceremony for survivors, families and first responders at an emergency operations center where a piece of the bridge will be installed permanently. And a museum near the collapse site is displaying a metal plate that failed and brought the bridge down.