By Julio-Ojeda-Zapata
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Copyright 2007 St. Paul Pioneer Press
All Rights Reserved

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — Already the busiest period for cell phone activity, the hour between 6 and 7 p.m. saw call volume spike for most service providers just after the Interstate 35W bridge collapse at 6:05 p.m. Wednesday. Many mobile calls didn't go through after the accident.

This was to be expected, local experts said, as hundreds or thousands of people tried placing calls to reassure loved ones or to track down friends or relatives.

"It's human nature for everyone to pick up wireless devices to make sure loved ones are safe," said Skip Thurman, spokesman for Qwest.

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Verizon, one of several local cell phone service providers, said about 20 percent of call attempts on its network appeared to fail between 6 and 7 p.m. But with double its normal call volume during that period, the network performed well under difficult conditions, said Verizon spokeswoman Karen Smith. The Verizon network had returned to normal by late Wednesday, Smith said.