The Quebec Bridge Disaster

The Quebec Cantilever Bridge, half-completed in August 1907 collapsed while under construction, killing 75 of the bridge workers and injuring 11 others. This editorial comments on the collapse of the south cantilever of the Quebec Bridge and is published as a companion article to a detailed description of the collapse itself. Both articles were written barely a month after the collapse and provide insight into the thoughts and perspectives of engineering professionals of that time period. The author begins by noting that this bridge collapse has brought into question the reliability, skill, and competency of the engineering profession as a whole. However, he contends that this deduction is not justified by the evidence already brought out and pleads that judgment be withheld until the entire case is presented. The author briefly reviews the evidence thus far regarding the lower chord member of the anchor arm and ponders how the bridge construction could have proceeded differently, avoiding collapse, if the abnormalities noted during the prior day or two to the collapse were attended to properly. A final comment considers the role of the larger-than-usual size of the bridge members was also a factor in its collapse.