Large Taiwan bridge collapses from earthquake

Gaoliao Bridge in Hualien County, Taiwan collapses from earthquake

Preliminary quake magnitude, depending on the source, was either a 6.4 or 6.8, or somewhere in between.

As I watched the video, there did not seem to be much reinforcing hanging out of the broken pier shafts.

Rod Smith, P.E., The artist formerly known as HotRod10

The column failures look very similar to Loma Prieta. I would agree, that reinforcing or lack thereof was a culprit. I know nothing of the building standards in Taiwan, but I would be interested to know when the bridge was originally constructed.

I didn't do alot of looking, but I haven't found any background information for the bridge yet.

Rod Smith, P.E., The artist formerly known as HotRod10

The collapse of that viaduct looks eerily similar to the collapse of the Hanchin Expressway in Kobe, Japan in 1995. Those single column, hammerhead supports are not my favorite.