News Cut Category Archive: Bridges and roads

If an earthquake has your name on it ...

Posted at 10:47 AM on August 24, 2011 by Eric Ringham (8 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads, Disasters, Science

Photo by Alain Picard/frontendeveloper.com via Flickr

It sounds like the East Coast came through the quake with most of its people, property and dignity intact. Even so, it's scary to see normally stationary fixtures start to sway, so I don't blame people for freaking out.

My colleague Molly Bloom came up with the wording we settled on for Today's Question: Does the risk of natural disaster shape where you live or travel? I knew it was a good choice because it made me want to answer.

Long ago I took a geology course at the University of Minnesota from a professor who, I distinctly remember, warned us about the danger of traveling to San Francisco. The Big One was coming, he said. If it doesn't happen today, that only increases its chances of happening tomorrow. And if not tomorrow, then the day after. The professor said that he wouldn't visit the Bay Area until after the major, killer earthquake that he knew was coming.

Then and there, I resolved to follow his example.

Years later, after a moderate earthquake on the West Coast, I decided to give my old prof a call and invite him to write a commentary about his personal decision not to visit San Francisco until after the next big quake.

"I said what?" he said. "No. I'm sure I never said that. I love San Francisco. I go there all the time."

But ... but ... I've been avoiding San Francisco for 20 years because you told me to.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but I never said that."

There's a lesson in here somewhere.

Comment on this post

Should left turns be banned?

Posted at 11:41 AM on August 2, 2011 by Bob Collins (17 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

Tom Vanderbilt, the traffic guru, has authored a piece in Slate today that advocates getting rid of the left turn.

Forty percent of accidents happen at intersections, he said, most of them involving crossing into the path of traffic.

What's a better solution. I give you -- er, he gives you -- the diverging diamond interchange:

As the eastbound driver approaches the highway interchange (whose lanes run north-south), traffic lanes "criss cross" at a traffic signal. The driver will now find himself on the "left" side of the road, where he can either make an unimpeded left turn onto the highway ramp, or cross over again to the right once he has gone under the highway overpass.

What makes the DDI work is that it reduces the number of "conflict points" where traffic streams cross each other. There would usually be 26 such points in an intersection like this, but the DDI has only 14 (because, for example, drivers turning onto ramps no longer have to turn across oncoming traffic). But... not having those left-turn movements adds another advantage. In a standard "diamond" interchange, where traffic entering the highway has to turn across traffic, the two sets of traffic signals, because they have to account for the left-turn phase, are difficult to synchronize--which means cars wait in longer queues. But with the DDI, Chlewicki told me, "each signal in the interchange is only two phases, not three. And each of these two phases have some unique characteristics. The left turn from either ramp gets the same green phase as the arterial thru movement that does not conflict with that turn.

Guess what state is -- literally -- heading in this direction? Minnesota. Specifically Pine Island. The Highway 52 interchange there is a particular nightmare.

Vanderbilt points out, however, that the underlying problem in any traffic design is congestion. As long as we keep building houses with three-car garages, he says, traffic problems are likely to get worse (and more dangerous) no matter what the design.

Vanderbilt will discuss his idea during a segment of today's Talk of the Nation from NPR.

Comment on this post

A little help staying on your side of the street

Posted at 1:00 PM on July 19, 2011 by Eric Ringham (6 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

SECOND UPDATE: I've heard back from the city, and it turns out that we all got a piece of it right. Yes, the appearance of the Post-it notes does portend a sealcoating. But yes, they are intended to mark the lanes for the convenience of motorists. And no, they are not intended to be permanent. They'd never survive the snowplows.

But they do survive the sealcoating, says Mike Kennedy of the Minneapolis Public Works Department. After workers lay the crushed rock and roll it down, the Post-its pop back up. They serve as temporary striping until city crews can come back and paint new stripes.

Thanks to everybody who piped up. Happy motoring.

UPDATE: Still waiting to hear back from the city. But it looks like News Cut readers know more than I do. Why am I not surprised? So ... the joke may be on me. Sounds like a major sealcoating is headed my way.

ORIGINAL POST: In other states with more moderate climates, I've seen these little reflective tabs stuck to the streets and highways, marking the line between lanes of traffic. They're great. The tabs look like Post-it notes, but at night, when a car's headlights approach, they glow like runway lights. They've made me think two things: 1) I wish we had these in Minnesota; 2) We'll never have these in Minnesota.

Why not? Because a dozen or two times every year, we scrape our roads down to the nub with heavy plows. The Post-it note that can stand up to that kind of punishment hasn't been made. Or so I thought.

But now, practically overnight, little glowing Post-it notes have sprung up on the streets of my neighborhood in south Minneapolis. I must have looked like a rube this morning, crouching down in the middle of the street to get a closer look.

I've put in a call to the city to get the details, and I'll update this post after I hear back. Here's what I want to ask: How much did the tabs cost? How long will they last? And: I notice that some of them are planted on top of pothole patches (see photo); doesn't that mean the tabs will be gone by spring thaw?

Comment on this post

NTSB worries about increasing number of older drivers

Posted at 2:26 PM on November 10, 2010 by Jon Gordon (4 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

By 2025, a whopping one in five licensed drivers will be 65 years of age or older, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Advancing technology will probably help make older Americans better drivers, but at some point many of us will lose the ability to drive safely.

On Today's Question we asked this: "Should older drivers have to take extra tests or exams?" The answers, both on MPRnews.org and our Facebook page, were mostly along the lines of yes, heck yes, dang straight. Here is a sampling of the answers:

Christy says,

"My 85-year-old Grampa won't listen to any of his children or grandchildren when we tell him he really shouldn't be driving anymore. His vision is fine, but his mind and reaction time aren't as sharp as they once were. His pride is stronger than his self-awareness. My grandmother with Alzheimer's didn't lose her license until a cop spotted her absentmindedly circling a parking lot for 20 minutes, and followed her home. This was months after she drove right through her own garage door."

Colleen writes,

"I live by a retirement community. Their driveway intersects the sidewalk. Can't count how many close calls I've had while running and riding my bike by there. I constantly preach to my son to be extra extra careful riding by the retirement community."

Some people feel like targeting older drivers for more tests is discriminatory, however. Deb says,

"Just like younger drivers there are older drivers of all abilities and alertness. I'm not sure extra driving tests for only older drivers will be anything other than a method to target them."

Comment on this post

End of the road for I-35W bridge lawsuit.

Posted at 12:04 PM on October 28, 2010 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

Years after completion of the replacement for the collapsed I35W bridge in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Supreme Court today rejected a claim by companies that lost out in the bidding process.

Several other construction firms had complained that the bridge builder -- Flatiron Constructors and Manson Construction -- got the job even though it had the highest cost of the four companies competing, and proposed taking the longest time to build the replacement.

But Justice Alan Page said the Legislature passed legislation that prevented the contract from simply being awarded to the lowest bidder:

Under the design-build best-value approach, the contractor submits a project design and a bid for constructing that design, based on design specifications provided by the State. Minn. Stat. § 161.3426, subd. 4(c)(1). The design-build best-value process differs from the lowest responsible bid process in that it allows public agencies to consider factors other than cost when awarding contracts.

"Although the lowest responsible bidder is still the preferred method for choosing a contractor, the Legislature has determined that in certain situations the design-build best-value procurement approach is in the public's best interest," Page said.

Here's the full opinion

(PHOTO: Creative Commons license by Thomas Brandt on Flickr)

Comment on this post

Era of the flashing yellow arrow

Posted at 10:31 AM on September 8, 2010 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is unveiling new traffic signals in a city where drivers consider red lights to be mere suggestions -- Woodbury.

The new flashing yellow turn signal is intended to warn drivers that oncoming traffic has a green light. MnDOT says studies show the flashing yellow arrow is safer.

The first use of the new signal begins today at the Interstate 94 and Highway 95 interchange in Woodbury. MnDOT tested the idea at the intersection of Highway 110 and Highway 149 in Mendota Heights.

Comment on this post

Road closings: You can't get there from here

Posted at 3:15 PM on July 16, 2010 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

Nightmares anyone?

It's another weekend in the Twin Cities, which means more closings of major interstate highways traversing these major American cities.

Here's the map. Click for a larger view.

And here's the translation:

I-94 - This evening (10 p.m.) through early Monday morning, it's closed between Cedar Avenue and I35W. The detour is Highway 280 to to I-35W to I-694. You can do the same thing if you're eastbound on 94 from west of the city. You can't use I-494 as a detour, however. See below.

I-94 WB - The entrance ramp from Lexington Avenue is closed until 5 Monday morning.

I-35W - Is closed between I-94 and 7th Street. If you're heading northbound, you'll have to get on I-94 westbound, east on I-694 and then pick up I-35W. If you're heading southbound, you can do the same thing, or go down Highway 280 to I-94 east and then down I-35E south, which seems a little out of the way unless you're sick of the western detour.

I-494 Western suburbs from I-94. The exit ramp from eastbound I-94 to I-494 closes at 8pm Friday and maybe reopens on Sunday in time for the come-home-from-the-cabin traffic. You could stay on 94 to Highway 169 to I-394. Better: Stay at the cabin another day. By the way, look out for the Maple Grove and Plymouth cops. They were having a field day catching speeders today.

I-494 Eastern suburbs - The exit ramps from northbound 494 to Valley Creek Road in Woodbury and I-94 eastbound are closed.

The northbound entrance ramp from Tamarack Road in Woodbury is closed.

I-694 Eastern suburbs - The entrance ramp from I-94 westbound to I-694 in Oakdale is closed.

The northbound exit onto 10th Street in Oakdale/Maplewood is closed.

The northbound exit onto Highway 5 in Oakdale is closed.

Highway 10 - Eastbound closed between Highway 65 and Interstate 35W starting at 6 p.m. Friday. Detour is Ramsey 10.

Mississippi River -- Open in both directions.

Comment on this post

Next up: The Hastings Bridge

Posted at 11:23 AM on July 1, 2010 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

On a day on which it opened the new Wakota Bridge span between Newport and South St. Paul, the Minnesota Department of Transportation selected Lunda/Ames to build the replacement of the Highway 61 bridge in Hastings. How do you like it? Lunda built the Wakota Bridge.

Construction begins in the fall. Here's MnDOT's project home page.

Comment on this post

The other bridge

Posted at 12:40 PM on June 24, 2010 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

One of the largest construction projects in state history is about to end.

Continue reading "The other bridge"

Big squeeze coming between the downtowns

Posted at 2:35 PM on March 18, 2010 by Bob Ingrassia (0 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

Anyone who's driven Interstate 94 between Minneapolis and St. Paul lately knows the rough road is in dire need of repair.

So when crews start closing lanes in late April to begin a 12-mile resurfacing project, many motorists may be willing to keep their tempers in check.

In 2011, though, things could get ugly. That's because parts of University Avenue -- a popular alternate route when I-94 is jammed -- may be torn up at the same time as the freeway.

The I-94 work will be done over two years. Crews will work this spring and summer on the section from Highway 280 east to downtown St. Paul. Lane closures will be part of the deal.

"You simply cannot work in that corridor without disruption," Minnesota Department of Transportation engineer Scott McBride told MPR a few weeks ago. "But we'll keep traffic going as best we can."

A second phase of the I-94 work will stretch from Highway 280 to the west, starting in spring 2011. And that's when the old "you can't get there from here" routine could begin for travelers between the downtowns.

A construction double whammy comes courtesy of the Central Corridor light-rail project. Last week, officials announced a construction schedule that would have University Avenue west of Hamline Avenue torn up in 2011 from March through November.

So here's the painful scenario: you're heading west on I-94 from the east metro -- to a Twins game perhaps -- and hit a backup because the freeway is squeezed at 280. You bail out at the Cretin/Vandalia or Snelling Avenue exit, thinking you can pick up University the rest of the way. Only now University is down to one lane each way, so that's no help. Now what? Marshall Avenue to Lake Street? Ouch.

Of course, the Central Corridor project is not yet fully funded, so the construction schedule could change. But for now, 2011 looks like a real pain for getting through the Midway.

You can explore the light-rail construction timeline via this map put together by the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Comment on this post

The other bridge

Posted at 12:20 PM on November 25, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

A legislative committee was told today that the new completion date for the Wakota Bridge has been moved up a year. The eastbound span of the bridge (it's actually two separate bridges) should open in July 2010.

The massive project began in 2002, and has ballooned by $56 million. It was originally supposed to be finished last year.

The bridge carries I-494 across the Mississippi between Newport and South St. Paul.

Comment on this post

There's nothing more to see here

Posted at 3:22 PM on October 1, 2008 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

The I-35W bridge "viewing area" is being dismantled. The "sidewalk" on the 10th Avenue Bridge was created shortly after the bridge collapse in August 2007 to accommodate the thousands of people who wanted a look at the site of the tragedy.

Now that the new bridge is built, there's nothing more to see.

According to a city news release:

On Oct. 5, that pedestrian area will be removed and the fourth traffic lane and bicycle lane will be restored. After that time, the only pedestrian access to the bridge will be the sidewalk on the downstream side of the bridge, as it was in the past.

For the next several weeks, drivers on the 10th Avenue Bridge may encounter some temporary lane restrictions as crews carry out additional bridge inspection work. Once that work is finished, full traffic access will be restored.

The 10th Avenue Bridge will close to traffic at 6 a.m. on Sunday through late afternoon.

Comment on this post

Five engineering lessons of the new bridge

Posted at 8:07 AM on October 1, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

By way of Ohioan Corrie Bergeron, we're alerted to a little national publicity for our fair state that doesn't involve an anemic baseball offense.

Popular Mechanics is out with a feature story today on the new I-35W bridge.

The story behind the story of this 10-lane, 504-ft bridge is one of the most impressive infrastructure projects of the decade--the complete replacement of a major bridge in little more than a year, months before a deadline that was considered incredibly ambitious. When the team of FIGG Engineering, Flatiron Constructors and Manson Construction won the bid for the project, the date for reopening was set for December 24th of this year. During a visit to the construction site in February, we at Popular Mechanics asked everyone we came across, from taxi drivers to sandwich-shop waiters, whether it seemed like a realistic goal. No one was buying it. Minneapolis winters are too cold for construction, we were told. And why should anyone have faith in U.S. infrastructure when the I-35W had been deemed structurally deficient for years--one of more than 100,000 such bridges scheduled for major overhauls or complete reconstruction?

If only getting righthanded power hitter for the Twins were so easy.

Comment on this post

The bridge reopens

Posted at 7:11 PM on September 17, 2008 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

The city of Minneapolis has sent out a list of changes to the city streets now that the I-35W bridge is reopening:

The bridge: Will you change your habits?

Posted at 9:27 AM on September 11, 2008 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

Minnesota Public Radio's Public Insight Network is a conduit for you to share your expertise and thoughts on news stories before they become news stories.

By way of my colleague, Michael Caputo, here's one story they're working on now:

What happens when you ask Minnesotans to weigh in on an issue like the reopening of the I-35W Bridge? You get some pretty good stories.

For a few years now, Minnesota Public Radio news has gone out to hundreds of you and your neighbors, asking for help to report and understand issues in the news. It's called our Public Insight Network. And, by the good graces of Mr. Collins, we're going to let NewsCut followers in on the questions and some of the early answers.

We're asking a fairly straight-forward series of questions around the opening of the new bridge: How did you use the span before it collapsed... and how might you use it now? We're also trying to find out if alternate routes (or means of travel) during the construction of the new bridge have become permanent.

Add your two cents by clicking here for a short survey.

Some in the Public Insight Network have already weighed in - and it's hardly a surprise that many plan on resuming use of I-35W when the bridge opens. Others who used the bridge before the collapse say they will pass on it now, like a Roseville law professor who will stick to her new bus routine.

Others are uneasy about the span. A Minneapolis man said he'll use the new bridge only after it's been in use for "at least a week to a month." A Minneapolis woman who was a first responder to the tragedy said she's not sure if she'll drive across it. "I cringe each time I see the work trucks on it," she told us.

Then you have your unique views. A commuter by bike and one who prefers strolling to work say they look forward to safer, saner car-less commutes as the new span reduces traffic on other roadways. Then there is a man who said he was initially inconvenienced by the detours... until he started to learn about the Twin Cities during his travels on alternate city roads. "It expanded my personal map of the Twin Cities," he said.

So what's your take? Let us know. Fill out the form and join the conversation in the comments section below.

Comment on this post

Bridge hindsight

Posted at 1:34 PM on September 10, 2008 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

The new I-35W bridge opens next week and after a pause to remember the victims of the calamity, and tip a hat or two to the people who built the new bridge in record time, it will be time to look back and ask this question: Did the state really have to throw a boatload of money at the project to get it built so fast?

After the shock of the collapsed bridge subsided, the initial reaction was that losing a major interstate bridge through the heart of the state's largest city would be a nightmare. Traffic would come to a standstill.

There were many heroes in the aftermath of bridge collapse, but some of them have gone unheralded: the engineers and transportation planners who figured out a system that ultimately would make the absence of the bridge an inconvenience to most people. (See the traffic map)

Here were the keys:

Discussion: How to celebrate the new I-35W bridge opening

Posted at 4:24 PM on September 9, 2008 by Bob Collins (13 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

How do you celebrate the year-long effort to recover from a tragedy?

The new I-35W bridge will reopen Tuesday. Now, how do officials open it? Should midnight roll around and the barriers be removed some evening? Should there be a ceremony of some sort? And how would you celebrate the incredible work of rebuilding the bridge while not minimizing the deaths of 13 people in the collapse of the I-35W structure last August?

And what do we call the new bridge? Should it have a name besides "the 35-W bridge"?

If you favor a ceremony, who would you invite? Assuming the governor is there, do you invite any of the DFL lawmakers who engineered the dismissal of his transportation commissioner over the tragedy? If there's a ribbon to be cut, who cuts it?

Discuss.

Comment on this post

A day at the bridge

Posted at 6:51 PM on August 17, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

Attention Twin Cities reporters: Touring the new I35W bridge is not a day at the beach.

MPR's Jess Mador tells the story behind the story of Sen. Amy Klobuchar's tour of the new bridge spanning the Mississippi River today. Apparently the press corps anxious to see the senator's reaction, was not properly informed that sandals and shorts are not the de rigueur attire for such locations.

Long pants and boots or closed-toed shoes are preferred.

"We all showed up improperly dressed," Jess reports. "Most of the guys were in shorts and flip flops and i was in sandals. "There was pandemonium. After some negotiation, klobuchar's aide ended up giving me his shoes. So I wore these ridiculously huge men's shoes, a few sizes too big and looked like a clown. It was funny. he really went above and beyond!"

Comment on this post

Bridge anniversary events

Posted at 3:24 PM on July 15, 2008 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

Gov. Pawlenty and Mayor Rybak announced the official I-35W bridge anniversary events today:

Interfaith Prayer and Memorial Service
August 1, 2008
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Basilica of St. Mary
88 N. 17th Street
Minneapolis

Free parking will be available in the Minneapolis Community and Technical College parking ramp just east of the Basilica.

Outdoor Memorial Ceremony
August 1, 2008
4:30 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.
Gold Medal Park
10th Avenue South and S. 2nd Street South

Comment on this post

The 'other' bridge project

Posted at 4:07 PM on July 7, 2008 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

How can anyone not be impressed by the new I-35W bridge? In relatively no time at all, construction crews have created a new bridge where the August 2007 tragedy occurred.

On Saturday the final span of the northbound lane of the new 35W bridge was moved into place. The southbound lane will be completed this week. A MnDOT release today says University Avenue over I-35W will be closed Thursday from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Friday while the entrance and exit ramps are paved with concrete. Crews are working 24-hours a day.

The new bridge will cost an estimated $234 million. The construction company has $27 million in incentives to finish the job this year. The rapid pace (See live Webcam) has many "sidewalk superintendents" raising their eyebrows, but officials insist no corners are being cut.

Impressive, indeed.

Downstream? Not so much.

This is the eastbound lane of the "new Wakota bridge," a project that started in 2002 and won't be completed until 2010. It'll take 8 years to completely replace the aging bridge which was knocked down when the eastbound span was finally completed in 2006, four years after construction started. A design error in the new span forced some emergency repairs, a design change, and a new construction bidding process.

While an army of construction workers are scurrying around the I-35W bridge project, this afternoon only a small handful of workers were on the South St. Paul side of the bridge, driving pilings.

The cost of the entire project? When it's done -- if there are no more cost overruns -- it'll run about $300 million -- $66 million and 7 years more than its new cousin upstream.

Comment on this post

Water under the bridge

Posted at 10:17 AM on June 19, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

In the political fallout following the collapse of the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, one of the mainstays of MnDOT's defense strategy was that inspections didn't uncover a problem with gusset plates, partly because the problem was an unknown one involving bridge design rather than condition.

A legislative report a month ago, however, said MnDOT based its bridge decisions on money, the subtext being that since MnDOT was run by Gov. Tim Pawlenty's lieutenant governor, keeping a no-new-taxes pledge was more important than fixing bridges.

Maybe. Maybe not. But documents analyzed by the Winona Daily News don't help the Pawlenty administration much.

According to today's story, the state bridge inspectors knew the Highway 43 bridge over the Mississippi River in Winona had badly rusted gusset plates two years ago. The bridge was closed last month.

In the Interstate Bridge reports inspectors noted missing rivets, rust forcing gussets apart and heavy section loss to corroded plates. Prior to that, MnDOT crews reinforced a single faulty gusset in 2000, according to the reports.

Inspectors "have been noticing corrosion and pack rust on that bridge for awhile," said MnDOT bridge inspector Eric Evens, who evaluated the Winona Bridge in 2006 and wrote one of the reports.

In the article, however, a bridge inspector says gusset plates are looked at differently now than they were before last August.

The leaders who ran MnDOT during its most troubled times are now gone. Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau was deposed as transportation commissioner earlier this year. Her #2, Bob McFarlin, has just submitted his resignation.

Some of the most strident DFLers in the political debate seem to be dismissing the political aspect of the failings of Minnesota bridges, leaving it to the new MnDOT team to determine how many rusty gussets are out there.

Comment on this post

Winona bridge to reopen, but not to bikes or pedestrians

Posted at 1:01 PM on June 12, 2008 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

One of the frustrations vented by News Cut commentators since the Highway 43 bridge in Winona closed a week ago is: Why can't they keep it open for bicycles?

The bridge, MnDOT announced today, will reopen on Saturday for automobiles, pickups, vans, SUVs and emergency vehicles. But not to bicycles.

During repairs to the gusset plates on the bridge, the sidewalks will be closed.

The ferry service across the Mississippi River will end a week from Friday.

Comment on this post

Winona's bridge closing causing serious problems

Posted at 2:36 PM on June 4, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

I spent a fair amount of time last night looking for a picture of the now-closed Highway 43 bridge over the Mississippi River in Winona. I should've done what Chris Steller at Minnesota Monitor did: Search the U.S. Postal Service Web site, because Chris had a memory good enough to recall the release of a "Minnesota" stamp that featured the bridge.

This bridge closing may affect travelers more than others, because the alternatives are so far away -- a half-hour in each direction. That's a big chunk of time and, at $4 a gallon for gasoline, money. But as it turns out, this bridge -- like others -- appears to have been designed improperly and we've been cheating death on a daily basis to cross it.

Today, Winona's mayor suggested it could be 2-3 weeks before it's reopened.

And that might be optimistic. According to the Winona Daily News, officials met with business owners to brief them on the woes today. The bridge will be open to emergency traffic and if the bridge needs significant repairs, it could remain closed for a bit. Officials are looking to open it to pedestrian and bicycle traffic earlier, however.

Tearing the bridge down and building a new one is also an option.

While driving into work today, I thought, "why not start up a ferry service?" But according to a commenter on the Winona Daily News Web site, that idea gets no traction at all:

"Do not try and have a paid shuttle service privately. I heard from a cousin that someone tried to do that and was shut down because of Coast Guard regulations. They are working on trying to get licensed boats for this purpose and I suggested the Julia Bell Swain or the Island Princess from TI. Lets see what happens. "

Still, it's an intriguing idea for an enterprising person and a smart commuter with a spare car. Leave it on one side of the bridge, live on the other, and take a $1-a-ride ferry with Fisherman Joe every morning. It's not as if ferry service doesn't exist elsewhere on the river.

Someone in the newsroom asked today, "why can't the military just put up a barge bridge as they did during World War II," and the most obvious answer is that that solution would close the river to barge navigation.

Coincidentally, the Army Corps of Engineers displayed its bridge-building prowess last month on the Ohio River. But those skills, apparently, would only come in handy if Wisconsin and Minnesota go to war and we need to get tanks across the river in a hurry.

Whatever your idea for a solution is, the city of Winona wants to hear it. It's set up a survey on the city Web site, though at the moment it's clearly leaning toward setting up a bus shuttle.

Comment on this post

The bridge report

Posted at 12:51 PM on May 21, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

The firm hired by the Legislature to investigate MnDOT decisions leading to the collapse of the I-35W bridge has released its report.

Here's the full version, although you can build a new bridge in the time it takes to download it.

"Financial considerations, we believe, did play a part in the decision-making" on bridge maintenance, Robert Stein, one of the attorneys, told lawmakers during a briefing. "Sometimes it's easier just to take the least expensive alternative or just commission another study."

Of course, things make more sense with the benefit of hindsight, but financial considerations are a fact of life and balancing those considerations with the possibilities and probabilities resulting from each decision is the hard part.

According to the Associated Press account:

Tom Johnson, another attorney who worked on the report, told legislators the maintenance work wasn't sufficient. The bridge was rated in "serious to poor" condition for 17 consecutive years by the National Bridge Inventory Standards.

Seventeen years is a little different than what MnDOT claims. In its bridge fact sheet, MnDOT reported, "Deficiencies were acknowledged in inspection reports dating back to 1997. Mn/DOT had taken several steps to address these deficiencies. Some cracking in the approach spans was repaired or was being monitored."

So, how long should a state allow a bridge rated in "serious to poor condition" to stand?

It's a good question, given that in Minnesota, 1,097 bridges that are considered structurally deficient, and 3 percent of them are considered in "poor" condition, according to the Office of Legislative Auditor.

Comment on this post

What's next?

Posted at 11:32 AM on May 2, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

Lindsay Petterson, whose story I profiled here last month, is happy that the Legislature has finally reached a deal on compensation for victims of the I-35W bridge collapse last August... and maybe a little hesitant about what's next.

She posted on her Caring Bridge Web site today:

I will be curious to see how my emotions play out in the next few months. For so long, I was able to focus on the legislative stuff when I felt hopeless and helpless. At least I could do something to make a difference. I'll just have to wait and see how things play out at least.

Comment on this post

The psychological footprint of a disaster

Posted at 5:32 PM on April 9, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

It's been almost nine months since Lindsay Petterson rode her car from the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis into the water of the Mississippi River. She says people are losing "their understanding nature" and thinking she and other bridge victims "should be over it by now."

She's not over it by a longshot. "It's just begun," she said.

Pettersen told her story today to a conference of public safety and medical professionals, examining the psychological aspect of mass disaster.

Last August 1, she was on her way home from her job in Shoreview, where she worked in a group setting with children with mental health issues. "I heard the most distinct sound like a beam cracking in half, and my world changed forever," she said. "I was in freefall. I don't remember the fall, but I remember thinking 'there's no way I'm going to survive this.'"

Her car sank and filled with water immediately. Somehow, although she doesn't remember how, she broke a window and surfaced, but not before "I changed my thought process to accepting this is how I was going to die."

Pulled to safety by one of the construction workers who rode the bridge to the water, she ended up in the hospital with a fractured vertebrae for five days. Her physical injuries healed; her post-trauma stress has not. Not completely.

"I have a problem being in man-made structures. I walk into elevators and back out," she said. "This roof as I'm speaking is making noises and it's freaking me out. I have nightmares of falling that are as real as it was that day. I fear death. There was a tornado warning in my town, and I was sure it was going to come right down on my apartment building, and I would be the only one to die."

Petterson says she's sometimes angry, but mostly she's sad. "It's the most lonely feeling I've ever had in my life. I know that this sad person is not who I was. I know it's not who I will be. But it's who I am now."

She's unemployed now because she started thinking that maybe, if she made one of the kids mad at work, they'd hurt her. "I worked in a group home and I tried to help the kids but it was at a time when I needed help, too." She says she's hoping for the perfect job to come along.

In the meantime, she wants people to be nicer, and be more understanding about the psychological impact of the disaster. She pointed to comments that are attached to news sites' articles. "There's a lot of mean people who have a lot of mean things to say. It's just not helpful," she said.

She writes occasionally on a section of the Caring Bridge Web site. In her last entry -- last week -- she wrote:

I was also asked to speak on a panel at a conference next week about Disaster Response. I'm very honored that I will be able to share my story, both on that day and since. I think I'm going to go find a nice spot to enjoy the sunshine and do some reading. Thanks for putting up with my griping...

Comment on this post