MINNESOTA: A worldwide investigation into the suitability of using ordinary playing cards in the design and construction of bridges is underway following the collapse of an eight lane freeway bridge into the Mississippi River on Thursday.

Bridge of Cards?

It is believed around 50 cars plunged into the waters of the Mississippi after being held bumper to bumper in a traffic jam across the bridge, which was built in 1938 using 57,985,237 decks of playing cards.

An investigation has begun into the cause of the disaster.
 
Repair work, believed to be a change of all the diamonds suited cards, had been underway on the bridge, which two years ago was described by federal authorities as structurally deficient and in possible need of replacement. "The cards had been dog-eared, bowed and even bent in some places," the report stated.

Other bridges made of decks of cards, such as the Golden Gate, Sydney Harbour and the Auckland Harbour bridges could be be in danger of collapse also.

The use of cards in the building of bridges was made popular by visionary industrial engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the mid nineteenth century.