1989 — April 1, Hatchie River Bridge Collapse, 5 vehicles fall, near Covington, TN — 8

—  8  Baum Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, PC. “Structure Accidents.”

—  8  New York Times (AP). “Tennessee Is Faulted In Collapse of Bridge,” June 6, 1990, A16.

—  8  NTSB, HAR. Collapse of the Northbound US Rte 51 Bridge Spans over the Hatchie River..

 

Narrative Information

 

Baum Hedlund: “The firm handled it’s first bridge collapse case in 1989. Considered one of the worst 10 bridge collapses in U.S. history,[1] the Hatchie River bridge collapsed near Covington, Tennessee on April 1, 1989 when an 85-foot section of the bridge fell into the rain-swollen Hatchie River because rushing water had weakened bridge supports. Four passenger cars and a tractor-trailer rig plunged into the river, killing all occupants. In all, eight people were killed.

 

“A federal investigation found that the river channel had moved 83 feet since the bridge was built in 1936, and that the bridge likely failed as a result of the deterioration of timber piles that were originally buried and not designed to be in water.

 

“After the Hatchie River bridge collapse, Tennessee started using divers every five years to check for underwater problems. At the national level concerns grew deeper that the national problem of aging bridges would only increase with time and that more and more bridges would become a risk.

 

“Federal law now requires the inspection of all bridges at least every two years but state and federal enforcement of repairs is lacking.” (Baum Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, PC. “Structure Accidents.”)

 

NTSB: “About 7:14 PM on April 1, 1989, moderate traffic on the northbound US Rte 51 bridge over the Hatchie River near Covington, Term. At that time, the river was above flood stage, covering the flood plain with 3 to 4 feet of water.  At 7:15 PM a motorist encountered a depression in the bridge deck. About 8:10 PM a motorist traveling about 50 mph struck a v-shaped depression. About 8:13 PM a motorist struck a depression about 2.5 to 3 feet deep. About 8:15 PM, another motorist encountered a 3-foot depression.  After traveling over the bridge, in his rear view mirror, the motorist saw two pairs of headlights then one disappeared from view. The motorist continued north 3 mi to Henning to report the incident. Concurrently a passenger car with two occupants was traveling northbound, encountered a deep depression and stopped after crossing the bridge and observed a vehicle behind them fall into a void where the depression had been. Shortly afterward, they watched several more vehicles and tractor trailer drive into “the void.

 

“Also about 8:15 PM, a driver and two passengers of a van were traveling about 50 to 55 mph northbound behind a tractor trailer that was preceded by two autos. The van operator began to move to the left to pass the truck when the truck suddenly moved into the left lane in front of the van.  The trailer lights shifted from side to side and then disappeared along with the two autos ahead of the truck.  The van operator stopped 12 feet from the edge of the bridge and observed the semi floating in the river.  It floated about 200 yards downstream.

 

“Sheriff deputies arrived about 8:22 PM. The TN highway patrol after 8:30 PM and rescue personnel arrived several minutes later.  A total of 4 passenger cars and one tractor-trailer with 8 occupants had plunger into the river. All died of head injuries.

 

“Two 2-lane bridges span the Hatchie River.  Northbound traffic crossed the river over a 2-lane bridge designed in 1931.  Southbound traffic crossed the river over a parallel 2-lane bridge designed in 1974, located 58 feet west of the northbound bridge.  The average daily traffic for each bridge was 5,730 vehicles.  The northbound bridge opened in 1936 and was 4,201 feet long. The bridge consisted of 143 spans supported by 2 concrete abutments, 117 concrete pile bents, 18 pile-supported concrete column bents and 7 pile-supported concrete piers.  The superstructure was designed with 137 (28.5 foot long) simply supported spans across the flood plain and 5 (43-foot long) simply supported spans extending across the main channel and an 81.5 foot long pony truss center span.  The spans consisted of 5 longitudinal reinforced concrete T-beam girders that were 14 inches wide and 21 to 22 inches tall. The girders were constructed of 2 layers of 1 to 1.25 inch square steel rebars.  The girders supported a 24 foot wide, 8 to 10.5 inch thick reinforced concrete deck. On each side of the deck, a 33-inch tall concrete masonry bridge rail was attached to a 9 inch curb.  The main channel concrete piers were 44.6 to 46.6 feet tall.” (NTSB. Highway Accident Report. Collapse of the Northbound US Rte 51 Bridge Spans over the Hatchie River near Covington, Tennessee, April 1, 1989, 1990.)

 

June 6, NYT: “Washington, June 5– The National Transportation Safety Board said today that a shifting river channel caused the highway bridge collapse that killed eight motorists in Tennessee last year but that state officials should have corrected the problems with the bridge a decade ago.  The board, expressing concern about thousands of other bridges throughout the country, also cited the 54-year-old Tennessee structure’s simple design as a contributing factor in its collapse on April 1, 1989. The bridge carried the two northbound lanes of U.S. 51 over the Hatchie River, 45 miles north of Memphis.

 

“The board cited the Tennessee Department of Transportation for failing to evaluate and correct problems found in inspections dating from 1979. The river channel has moved 83 feet since the bridge was built in 1936, investigators said. The board said the bridge failed ”most likely” as a result of the deterioration of timber piles that were originally buried and not designed to be in water.  The board voted 3 to 1 on what led to the collapse and 4 to 0 on a set of recommendations to Federal and state officials.” (New York Times (AP). “Tennessee Is Faulted In Collapse of Bridge,” June 6, 1990, A16.)

 

Sources

 

Baum Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, PC. “Structure Accidents.” Accessed 2-10-2010 at: http://www.baumhedlundlaw.com/structure2/main_structure.php

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Collapse of the Northbound U.S. Route 51 Bridge Spans over the Hatchie River. Accessed 6-27-2016 at: http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/HAR9001.aspx

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Highway Accident Report. Collapse of the Northbound US Rte 51 Bridge Spans over the Hatchie River near Covington, Tennessee, April 1, 1989 (NTSB/HAR-90/01). Washington, DC: NTSB. 1990. Abstract accessed 2-5-2012 at: http://www.nrc.gov/materials/transportation/certification/package-study/rwma92.pdf

 

New York Times. “Tennessee Is Faulted In Collapse of Bridge,” June 6, 1990. Accessed 6-27-2016 at: http://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/06/us/tennessee-is-faulted-in-collapse-of-bridge.html?pagewanted=1

 

 

 

 

[1] Depends on the definition of “worst,” as well as usage.  There have been at least 27 deadly bridge and trestle failures in U.S. history killing 10 or more people.  The majority, however, have been railway bridges or trestles, while three were due to barge and freighter collisions with bridges.  If rail and maritime-related failures are removed then the Hatchie River Bridge collapse would fall within the top ten deadliest highway-related bridge failures.