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Minneapolis will mark the fourth anniversary
of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse by dedicating a memorial
honoring the lives lost and the survivors of the disaster.


      City officials will dedicate the Remembrance Garden across the
street from Gold Medal Park starting at 5:10 p.m. Monday. Speakers
at the public ceremony will include Mayor R.T. Rybak and Gov. Mark
Dayton.


      The memorial includes 13 pillars, each etched with the name of a
person who died when the bridge fell into the Mississippi River in
2007. Another 145 people were injured when the span broke up during
the evening rush hour.


      Another component of the memorial is a stone water wall
inscribed with the names of everyone who was on the bridge but
survived. There's a path leading from the wall to an observation
deck on the bluff overlooking the river and the new bridge.


      City officials say the ceremony will start with a presentation
of colors by an honor guard from the Minneapolis police and fire
departments, and the Hennepin County sheriff's department and
emergency medical services.


      There will be a reading of all the names on the memorial. The
ceremony will conclude with a minute of silence at 6:05 p.m. to
mark the exact time the bridge collapsed, followed by the release
of 13 doves.


      Dayton has ordered that all U.S. and Minnesota flags be flown at
half-staff at the State Capitol complex from sunrise to sunset
Monday in remembrance of those who died in the disaster. His
proclamation honors the victims, their families and communities and
the first responders who came to their aid.


      Plans for the memorial were announced in 2008, but a series of
fundraising and logistical issues held it up until a $1.5 million
contribution from law firms that represented the victims revived
the project. Survivors and victims' family members worked closely
with officials on the design and location.


      Federal investigators blamed the collapse on connector plates
that were too thin and a heavy load of construction material staged
above vulnerable parts by a paving company doing bridge work at the
time. 


A settlement last August resolved the last major piece of
litigation brought by victims. All told, the state and two of its
contractors will have paid out at least $100 million to the
families of those killed and injured.

Gallery

Construction begins on 35W bridge memorial in Mpls.

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Minneapolis will mark the fourth anniversary
of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse today by dedicating a memorial honoring the lives lost and the survivors of the disaster.

On bridge collapse anniversary, memorial to be dedicated

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