Quote :

"It was probably a strange call to make, let alone to receive. “I couldn’t believe it,” Gary Bruce told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after a neighbor called to tell him that a bridge his company owned had somehow disappeared. As WTAE reports, the 50-foot bridge in North Beaver Township in western Pennsylvania was seemingly stolen sometime in the past two weeks. Police believe thieves used a torch to dismantle the steel bridge, presumably to sell its pieces as scrap metal. The bridge was only sporadically used, according to Bruce who represents New Castle Development, the company that owns the property. He tells the Post-Gazette that the company had recently decided to close the bridge off to the public because of rising incidences of metal theft. Rising scrap metal prices and high numbers of empty foreclosed homes have led to a spike in metal theft, especially high-value copper wiring inside the walls of many homes. Metalprices.com reports that copper is worth more than $3 per pound, up from less than a dollar in 2003. Manhole covers have also been stolen, as have train rails. This Pennsylvania bridge, though, is not the first to be stolen. A Polish bridge was stolen in 1998, thieves in Ukraine stole an 11-meter bridge in 2004, and a 200-ton bridge was dismantled and stolen in Russia in 2008. Still, it’s kind of a strange evolution of the desperation inspired by the economic recession. Once all the abandoned homes have been gutted, will the country’s crumbling infrastructure be the new target? "

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2011/10/entire-bridge-stolen-scrap/272/

10/11/2011 2:53:22 AM

Does this make anyone else think of:

?

10/11/2011 3:12:32 AM

Quote :

"He tells the Post-Gazette that the company had recently decided to close the bridge off to the public because of rising incidences of metal theft."

wot?

metal theft was increasing so they wanted to make it easier for metal thieves to steal their bridge?

10/11/2011 7:30:46 AM

^ I think they were worried that people would try to steal the bridge or parts of the bridge, which would lead to accidents with people driving over a bridge that had been fucked with. Just my opinion.

10/11/2011 7:41:01 AM

Original news report said it was originally an old railroad bridge and looking at the video, its in a very remote location, dirt road access only. And since it was built in the early 1900's, it probably used cast iron or low grade steel.

Also, there was no bridge left... pretty impressive for some "random" thieves to come in and steal some heavy metal from a remote location. Hard to imagine it being worth the effort and cost effective to remove it for any sort of profit.

10/11/2011 8:57:27 AM

^^ that's what I was thinking.

10/11/2011 8:57:54 AM

Also, why was the news report done at night? Was really stupid.

10/11/2011 8:59:50 AM

This happened a couple of years ago to a bridge in Western NC. It was a much smaller bridge though... I don't know if it made the news or not either - I just helped with the insurance stuffs

10/11/2011 9:02:18 AM

I work in the recycling business. Those bridge parts are probably sold as shredder steel which will fetch about $12/100 lbs. Assuming the size of the pieces, I could see them making a $10k+ off this work. They'd have to be careful how they "recycled" it and yes it would be a lot of man hours, but I'm sure it's worth it to these thieves.

Metal places (at least in NC) have to keep record of your driver's license for metal transactions, but mostly likely these thieves are in cahoots with a metal dealer and this shit is taking place under the table. Happens all the time with recycling. Sucks for guys who are legit as they get under cut or stolen from.

10/11/2011 9:18:37 AM

where can I sell my shredder material for .12/lb?

10/11/2011 2:05:25 PM

^I think there's a place in Durham that takes recycle steel and iron for a good price. I forgot the place, but they sell steel tubes and stuff for metal work projects that my friend does.

[Edited on October 11, 2011 at 3:10 PM. Reason : ]

10/11/2011 3:07:49 PM

Quote :

"I work in the recycling business. Those bridge parts are probably sold as shredder steel which will fetch about $12/100 lbs. dismantled by a recycling plant who will melt down and sell the steel at retail price"

Fixed

10/11/2011 3:15:57 PM

I mean I am "in the recycling business" too but shredder material is only .10/lb right now, and I would like to get that extra 20%.

10/11/2011 3:16:47 PM

Quote :

"NEW CASTLE, Pennsylvania (AP) — Two brothers have been charged with stealing a western Pennsylvania bridge and selling the 15 1/2 tons of scrap metal for more than $5,000. Police say 24-year-old Benjamin Arthur Jones and 25-year-old Alexander Williams Jones of New Castle used a blowtorch to break up the bridge in late September or early October. They face felony charges of criminal mischief, theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy. Authorities say Alexander Jones told a recycling company employee that he had permission to carve the bridge for scrap and showed the employee cellphone photos of the bridge. The recycling company called police. The 50-foot (15-meter)-long by 20-foot (6-meter)-wide Covert's Crossing Bridge was in a wooded area about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of Pittsburgh. The brothers' phone numbers weren't listed, and it's unclear whether they have attorneys."

See I don't get it.

If you're smart enough to know how to dismantle a bridge,


How are you dumb enough not to plan on how to escape getting caught?
"told a recycling company employee that he had permission to carve the bridge for scrap and showed the employee cellphone photos of the bridge." is the grand plan???


Anyway... dumbasses caught.
Case closed.

10/16/2011 1:50:50 PM

Quote :

"Still, it’s kind of a strange evolution of the desperation inspired by the economic recession."

It's not an evolution of desperation inspired by the economic recession. It's durg addicts trying to get money for another fix. The fluctuating prices of scrap metals cause them the change their targets. Normal poor folks don't go steal a bridge to try to pay their bills because times are so tough.

10/16/2011 2:09:38 PM

lol I doubt drugs had much to do with it. Most crimes are crimes of opportunity. A couple guys who knew how to cut metal with welders knew about a bridge nobody ever used and decided to take it apart.

10/16/2011 4:11:02 PM

I guess I'm grouping them with copper thieves that rob wire from houses.

10/16/2011 7:33:19 PM