In 1907, the first span of the cantilever reached over the water, and it became clear to McLure that certain steel chords were beginning to bend. He sent a letter to Cooper, who was stationed in New York, and later met with Cooper to discuss causes of the bending. Cooper later sent a telegraph to the Phoenix Bridge Company to “add no more load to [the] bridge till after due consideration of facts”, but McLure resumed construction. At the end of the work day on August 29, 1907, the bridge collapsed killing 75 of the 86 workers on the bridge.