What We You Doing When Minnesota’s I-35W Bridge Collapsed 10 Years Ago?

It's hard to believe, but it's been a decade already since the I-35W bridge collapsed in Minneapolis. Do you remember what you were doing that day?

I sure do. I had just gotten back-- literally earlier that day-- from a baseball roadtrip a buddy and I had been on. We drove from Eau Claire to Cincinnati, then headed up to Cleveland, Pittsburgh, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, and then hit Baltimore on our way back.

But the reason I remember the bridge collapse so clearly is that on our way back to Wisconsin that day, the last day of our trip, we crossed a bridge, somewhere in Illinois. I think it might have been in Rockford. I don't remember where it was exactly, but I DO remember that it looked pretty old, outdated and rusty. I remember thinking to myself, is thing going to stay up while we cross it?

Well, it did, of course. But then, the unthinkable happened-- the I35W bridge collapsed, killing 13 people and injuring 145 more. After I heard the news, I remember calling and checking in with my friends and family in the Twin Cities to make sure they were all safe.

For many weeks after that, I thought about that tragedy every time I crossed ANY bridge, anywhere-- wondering if they, too, were going to collapse. Thankfully, they didn't. But it was hard to shake that thought for quite awhile.

And, now it's equally hard to shake the thought that 10 years have passed since that fateful day.  Do you remember what you were doing that day?