The I-35W bridge reopens

Historic and handsome, but could new bridge have been more?

by Tom Crann, Minnesota Public Radio

Minneapolis — Bridge buffs are lamenting a lost opportunity in the building of the I-35W bridge. Some, like historian Denis Gardner, say the new bridge was a chance to add something truly distinctive to the Minneapolis riverscape. Instead, Gardner calls the new bridge merely "handsome."

Denis Gardner is the author of "Wood, Concrete, Stone and Steel: Minnesota's Historic Bridges." He joined Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Crann on one of the state's oldest bridges -- the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis -- to talk about the state's newest.

Broadcast Dates

• All Things Considered, 09/15/2008, 5:24 p.m.