The Breaking Point Trivia Quiz

In November 1940, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington collapsed just four months after opening. Nicknamed 'Galloping Gertie' for its dramatic twisting and bouncing in the wind, the bridge failed during gusts of around 42 mph due to aeroelastic flutter, a self-reinforcing vibration that overwhelmed its structure. The collapse was captured on film and quickly became one of the most famous engineering failures in history.

The disaster brought to light a critical blind spot in suspension bridge design: engineers had not fully understood the effects of wind-induced motion. It led to major advances in aerodynamics and structural engineering, including wind tunnel testing and torsional stability standards, which continue to guide bridge construction today.

The Silver Bridge connecting Point Pleasant, West Virginia, to Gallipolis, Ohio, collapsed during rush hour, in December 1967, killing 46 people. The bridge, built in 1928, was packed with holiday traffic when a single eyebar in its suspension chain fractured due to a tiny defect, just 0.1 inches deep. With no structural redundancy, the failure spread instantly, bringing the entire span down into the Ohio River.

It laid bare serious flaws in bridge design and inspection practices of the time and led directly to the creation of the National Bridge Inspection Standards in the U.S., transforming how engineers assess structural safety. The tragedy also sparked eerie local legends, with some linking the collapse to sightings of the mythical Mothman in the area.

May 1980, saw the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Florida collapse after the freighter MV Summit Venture struck one of its support piers during a violent thunderstorm. The collision caused over 1,200 feet of the bridge to fall into Tampa Bay, sending six cars, a truck, and a Greyhound bus plunging into the water. Thirty-five people lost their lives in the disaster.

This catastrophe revealed vulnerabilities in bridge design and maritime navigation during severe weather. The bridge lacked protective barriers around its piers, and the ship's pilot had lost visual and radar references in the storm. In response, the bridge was replaced with a modern cable-stayed structure featuring improved safety measures and better clearance for ships.

In July 1981, two suspended walkways inside the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, collapsed during a crowded tea dance, killing 114 people and injuring over 200. The fourth-floor walkway fell onto the second-floor walkway below, and both crashed into the lobby packed with guests.

It was traced to a fatal design change during construction: the steel rods supporting the walkways were reconfigured in a way that doubled the load on key connections. This flaw went unnoticed and left the structure vulnerable to failure. It remains one of the deadliest engineering disasters in U.S. history and led to radical reforms in structural design review and engineering ethics.

A 100-foot section of the Mianus River Bridge on I-95 in Greenwich, Connecticut, collapsed in the middle of the night, in June 1983, killing three people and injuring three more. Two cars and two tractor-trailers plunged 70 feet into the river when a suspended span gave way without warning.

It was discovered that the cause was a failed pin-and-hanger assembly, a critical connection that had corroded and cracked over time. When one hanger slipped off its pin, the entire load shifted to the remaining hanger, which eventually fractured. The collapse exposed serious gaps in inspection protocols and led to widespread changes in how bridge joints and ageing infrastructure are monitored.

A spring flood in April 1987 caused the Schoharie Creek Bridge on the New York State Thruway to collapse, killing ten people. The disaster occurred when fast-moving water eroded the soil beneath one of the bridge's support piers, a process known as scour, causing two spans to fall into the creek. Several vehicles plunged into the water before the structure gave way entirely.

Investigators found that the bridge's foundations were poorly protected and that inspection protocols had failed to detect the growing risk. The collapse led to major reforms in bridge design and maintenance, especially around scour prevention and flood resilience.

During the Loma Prieta earthquake, in October 1989, the Cypress Street Viaduct in Oakland, California, collapsed, killing 42 people. The double-decked section of Interstate 880 crumbled when seismic forces overwhelmed its brittle concrete supports, causing the upper deck to pancake onto the lower one. Many victims were trapped in their vehicles beneath tons of rubble.

The structure had been built in the 1950s using outdated seismic standards and sat on top of soft soil with deep bedrock, making it especially vulnerable. Although some retrofitting had been done, key reinforcements were never completed. This became a turning point in earthquake engineering, prompting major upgrades to California's infrastructure and a deeper understanding of how soil and design interact under seismic stress.

The Big Bayou Canot rail bridge near Mobile, Alabama, was struck by a barge pushed by the towboat Mauvilla in September 1993. The pilot had become disoriented in dense fog. The collision knocked a span of the bridge out of alignment and kinked the rails, but the track circuit remained intact, so the signals still showed green. Just minutes later, Amtrak's Sunset Limited train crossed the damaged bridge at full speed and derailed catastrophically.

Three locomotives and several passenger cars plunged into the water, igniting a fire from ruptured fuel tanks. Forty-seven people were killed and over a hundred were injured, making it the deadliest accident in Amtrak's history. The disaster exposed serious gaps in navigation training, bridge design, and signal safety, especially the lack of warning systems for structural displacement.

In August 2007, the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge in Minneapolis collapsed during rush hour, sending dozens of vehicles plunging into the river below. Thirteen people lost their lives and over a hundred were injured. At the time, construction materials and equipment had been placed on the bridge, adding extra weight to an already vulnerable structure.

Investigators later found that a key design flaw, a set of gusset plates that were too thin, had gone unnoticed for decades. The added load from roadwork that day pushed the bridge past its limits, triggering a catastrophic failure. It led to sweeping changes in bridge inspection protocols across the U.S. and a renewed focus on ageing infrastructure.

In the early hours of March 26, 2024, the Dali, a large container ship, lost power while departing the Port of Baltimore. A loose electrical cable caused a blackout, leading to the ship drifting off course and striking a main support pier of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The impact caused the bridge to collapse into the Patapsco River, resulting in the deaths of six construction workers and injuries to two others.

The bridge, constructed in the 1970s, had some protective measures but was not designed to withstand collisions from large vessels like the Dali. The collapse disrupted traffic and port operations, leading to significant economic impacts. Investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI are ongoing in 2025, with the latter examining potential negligence regarding the ship's mechanical issues before departure.