High levels of traffic over the years on 35W bridge could contribute to stress

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MnDOT says the 35W bridge was fully capable of carrying the some 140,000 cars and trucks that used it at the time of its collapse last week. Transportation officials won't speculate on whether the amount of traffic somehow contributed to the failure of the bridge. However, the head of the University of Minnesota engineering department says increased traffic on a bridge experiencing fatigue will shorten its life span. When it collapsed, the 35W bridge was 40 years old, but its life span was predicted to be 50 years. Minnesota Public Radio's Sea Stachura reports.

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