I-35W Bridge's Failed Gusset Plate On Display

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- One of the key elements that caused the Interstate 35W Bridge to collapse is now on display in Minneapolis.

It comes less than a week before the 10-year anniversary of when the bridge fell.

A metal gusset plate was identified as the first piece of the bridge to fail when it collapsed on Aug. 1, 2007.

It was used during the investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, who determined that the gusset plates were too thin to support the weight of the bridge.

The disaster killed 13 people and injured close to 150 people.

"It's one thing to see a photograph of that bridge, it's another thing to stand in front of a piece of it and actually have a sense of its power and its presence," said Adam Scher, Minnesota Historical Society senior curator.

The plate can be seen at the Mill City Museum, located just down the road from where the bridge collapsed.

It will be there until Aug. 30, when it will likely be moved to the Minnesota Historical Society in downtown St. Paul.