The Customer Service Survey
VocaLabs' weblog providing news and commentary on the challenges of providing good customer service.
Tragedy
Thursday - August 02, 2007 09:46 AM in
Thanks to everyone who sent me e-mails this morning after the tragic freeway bridge collapse last night in downtown Minneapolis.
Fortunately, our offices are several miles away from downtown and nobody at VocaLabs was directly affected. Dan reported a close call as his son and ex-wife drove over the bridge about 15 minutes before it collapsed.
I am thankful right now that--at least by the current reports--the human toll was much less than it could have been. The disaster struck right in the middle of rush hour, and the freeway was jammed with bumper-to-bumper traffic in both directions at the time. While things are still likely to change, I would have expected maybe an order of magnitude more fatalities than the seven being officially reported right now.
Looking ahead, it's going to take years to clean up this mess. Not only did this completely sever one of only two freeway bridges across the Mississippi in downtown Minneapolis (there are other bridges, but they're only connected to city streets), it also cut off river traffic just below Lock and Dam #1, and blocked a major railroad line.
(For those not familiar with the area, the core of downtown Minneapolis is just South and West of the Mississippi. The river sits in a deep gorge with two major freeways crossing at downtown: I-35W carries North-South traffic, and I-94 carries East-West traffic. The main campus of the University of Minnesota straddles the river just East of I-35W, and the entire area is surrounded by historic and cultural districts, student housing, offices, and light industrial areas. I used to live in an apartment only about a block from the collapsed bridge.)
Right now, recovery continues, and we are adjusting to the best of our ability.
Posted by Peter Leppik
I am thankful right now that--at least by the current reports--the human toll was much less than it could have been. The disaster struck right in the middle of rush hour, and the freeway was jammed with bumper-to-bumper traffic in both directions at the time. While things are still likely to change, I would have expected maybe an order of magnitude more fatalities than the seven being officially reported right now.
Looking ahead, it's going to take years to clean up this mess. Not only did this completely sever one of only two freeway bridges across the Mississippi in downtown Minneapolis (there are other bridges, but they're only connected to city streets), it also cut off river traffic just below Lock and Dam #1, and blocked a major railroad line.
(For those not familiar with the area, the core of downtown Minneapolis is just South and West of the Mississippi. The river sits in a deep gorge with two major freeways crossing at downtown: I-35W carries North-South traffic, and I-94 carries East-West traffic. The main campus of the University of Minnesota straddles the river just East of I-35W, and the entire area is surrounded by historic and cultural districts, student housing, offices, and light industrial areas. I used to live in an apartment only about a block from the collapsed bridge.)
Right now, recovery continues, and we are adjusting to the best of our ability.
Posted by Peter Leppik
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