i wouldn't say it was a poor design- the thing stood for 40 years with ever increasing traffic loads- but it was an outdated design with no real redundancy. one little thing breaks, and the whole thing comes down. it could have been as "minor" as a single rivet rusting out or getting sheared off.
they don't build bridges like that one any more. the world has moved on from the days of steel truss bridges.
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