St. Paul, Minn.
A large buildup of pigeon dung may have contributed to the collapse of a heavily traveled Minnesota bridge last month, the Associated Press reported this week. In 1989, bridge inspectors had warned that pigeon droppings were accumulating on the steel beams of the I-35W bridge connecting Minneapolis and St. Paul. The ammonia and acids in the droppings, they said, could corrode the beams. The span collapsed Aug. 1, killing 13 people and injuring more than 100. Accident investigators have not yet determined why the bridge fell.
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