|
 Minnesota
-  I-35W
Bridge Disaster
I-35W Bridge Disaster News:
20080423
-
Safety
-
 Politics
- I-35W
Bridge Disaster -  Investigation
-  Transportation
-  Construction
- Minnesota
- "Congressman,
NTSB chairman clash on bridge investigation." ...
"A Democratic congressman on Wednesday urged the National Transportation
Safety Board to reverse its decision not to hold an interim public hearing
on last year's deadly bridge collapse in Minneapolis [Minnesota]." ...
""In the greater Minnesota area, there is huge skepticism about the objectivity
of the board in conducting this inquiry," [Minnesota Democratic Represenative]
Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn. [Democratic-Minnesota], told NTSB [National
Transportation Safety Board] chairman Mark Rosenker at a congressional
hearing. "And I'm not asking you, I'm telling you, that a public hearing
will dispel, go a long way to dispel, the questions raised and the lack
of trust in the board's actions."" ... "The board's three Republicans,
including Rosenker, voted against a public hearing, while the two Democratic
board members voted to hold one." ... "Oberstar, the chairman of the House
Transportation Committee, said at a subcommittee hearing Wednesday that
he's more concerned with a thorough investigation than a timely one." ...
"A final cause on the [August] Aug. 1 bridge collapse, which killed 13
people and injured 145, won't be determined until later this year. But
NTSB memos point to undersize steel plates and heavy loads of construction
materials as the likely cause of the deadly collapse. In January, Rosenker
called the undersized plates, known as gusset plates, "the critical factor"
in the bridge collapse." ... "That early pronouncement has angered some
Democrats, especially Oberstar, who has argued that it could commit the
board to conclusions that will be difficult to change in light of further
investigation. Meanwhile, the state's Republican governor, Tim Pawlenty,
has viewed it as some vindication because the initial focus by critics
had been on maintenance and upkeep." -By Frederic
J. Frommer -AP
via -SeattleTimes
20070808
-
Minnesota
- I-35W
Bridge Collapse - Disaster
-
 History
- Transportation
- Construction
-  Science
- Politics
- "I-35W
inspectors flagged serious cracks, rusting." ...
"[Minnesota] State bridge inspectors warned for nearly a decade before
its collapse that the Interstate 35W bridge had "severe" and "extensive"
corrosion of its beams and trusses, "widespread cracking" in spans and
missing or broken bolts." ... "Not only was the superstructure in poor
condition, but certain components were "beyond tolerable limits," and one
of the bridge's piers had "tilted to the north," they reported." ... "By
2000, the inspectors wrote that "eventual replacement of the entire structure
would be preferable" to redecking the bridge. They added: "If bridge replacement
is significantly delayed, the bridge should be re-decked."" ... "That recommendation
was repeated in every report afterward, but it never happened." ... "[Minnesota
Republican Governor Tim] Pawlenty defended the decisions made about the
bridge." ... "However, in every report since 2000, inspectors urged the
state to replace bolts in a specific area of the bridge, a job listed each
year under "Immediate Maintenance Recommendations."" ... "And since 2004
the reports repeatedly cited fatigue cracking in two girders as another
problem requiring immediate maintenance, possibly including measures to
relieve stress." ... "More than 11,000 comparable bridges in the nation
have deficiency ratings similar to those of the I-35W bridge." -By
Pat Doyle, Mike Kaszuba, Dan Browning and Laurie Blake
-StarTribune
-
Minnesota
- I-35W
Bridge Collapse - Disaster
-
 River
-  Navy
-  Robotic
- Technology
- Space
Shuttle Columbia - USS-Monitor
- Historic
- Police
- "Navy
Divers Join Minn. Bridge Search." ... "An elite team
of Navy divers joined the search for victims of the [Minneapolis, Minnesota
I-35W] interstate bridge collapse Tuesday, bringing to the job lessons
learned from such disasters as TWA Flight 800 and the loss of the space
shuttle Columbia." ... "The team of 16 divers and a five-member command
crew arrived a day earlier. Once their gear arrived before dawn Tuesday,
several divers immediately entered the Mississippi River even though local
officials encouraged them to wait until daybreak." ... "``Two in the morning,
they dove into the water,'' Minneapolis Police Capt. Mike Martin said,
calling them ``the best divers in the world.''" ... "Navy Senior Chief
David Nagle said the divers wanted to get a feel for the area and were
in the water for about two hours. Divers were back in the river by late
morning, removing concrete rebar and other debris." ... "Joining the Navy
team was an FBI dive crew, doing forensic work for the investigation. Their
tools included a small unmanned submarine equipped with a robotic arm.
``It's basically crime-lab-underwater kind of work,'' Martin said." ...
"The Navy and FBI team bring experience and technology far beyond what's
been available to local search crews, who complained they have been hampered
by dangerously unstable wreckage and a rapid current." ... "The Navy divers
will be tethered to above-ground oxygen tanks, so they can stay in the
water much longer than local divers, who had been using scuba tanks. Heavy-duty
equipment will allow divers to cut through steel wreckage. The Navy also
has sophisticated sonar to scan for bodies." ... "Navy divers assisted
in the reclamation of historic sunken ships including the ironclad Civil
War ship the Monitor." -By Patrick Condon with contributions
by Steve Karnowski and Mark Scolforo -AP
via -Guardian.co.uk
20070807
-
Minnesota
- Political
- Transportation
- Construction
-
 Gas
-  Legislation
- I-35W
Bridge Collapse - Disaster
-  Don
Young -  Alaska
-  Government
- "Bridge
Collapse Revives Issue of Road Spending." ... "In
the past two years, [Minnesota Republican Governor] Gov. Tim Pawlenty of
Minnesota twice vetoed legislation to raise the state’s gas tax to pay
for transportation needs." ... "Now, with at least five people dead in
the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge here, Mr. Pawlenty, a Republican,
appears to have had a change of heart." ... "Even as the cause of the bridge
disaster here remains under investigation, the collapse is changing a lot
of minds about spending priorities. It has focused national attention on
the crumbling condition of America’s roadways and bridges — and on the
financial and political neglect they have received in Washington and many
state capitals." ... "Despite historic highs in transportation spending,
the political muscle of lawmakers, rather than dire need, has typically
driven where much of the money goes. That has often meant construction
of new, politically popular roads and transit projects rather than the
mundane work of maintaining the worn-out ones." ... "The $286 billion federal
transportation legislation passed by Congress in 2005 included more than
6,000 earmarks, which amounted to blatant gifts to chosen districts, including
the [Alaska Republican Representative Don Young's] so-called Bridge to
Nowhere in rural Alaska (that earmark was later removed after a political
uproar)." ... "A study released in May by the Urban Land Institute and
Ernst & Young found that 83 percent of the nation’s transportation
infrastructure was not capable of meeting the country’s needs over the
next 10 years. The American Society of Civil Engineers, in its latest national
report card, gave transportation infrastructure a D." (1, 2)
-By Susan Saulny and Jennifer Steinhauer
-NYTimes
20070803
-
Minnesota
- I-35W
Bridge Collapse - Disaster
- Water
- Sheriff
-
 Fire
Department - "Divers
work in a dark, dangerous world." ... "Divers searching
in the murky Mississippi River for victims of the [Minneapolis, Minnesota
I-35W] bridge collapse work in a hazardous world where a mistake can cost
them their lives." ... "Underwater debris swirls the river's already powerful
currents into whirlpools of fast-moving water that can endanger divers,
authorities said." ... "And the water is a potentially lethal stew of fuel,
broken glass, jagged car parts, and concrete and rebar from the fallen
bridge." ... ""Conditions on the river are even more treacherous than yesterday,"
Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek said Friday. "The divers will be taking
extreme caution. We will be slow and methodical during our search operations
today." ... "Visibility in parts of the river is less than a foot, said
one diver, Capt. Shanna Hanson of the Minneapolis Fire Department.""
-CNN
-
Minnesota
- I-35W
Bridge Collapse -
 Car
- Transportation
- Water
- "Driver
makes dramatic underwater escape after bridge collapses."
... "Alicia Babatz was on her way to pick up her 2-year-old daughter Wednesday
when she felt the [Minneapolis, Minnesota I-35W] bridge give way beneath
her." ... "She said she thought she was going to die as her car crashed
into the concrete and plunged into the water. Buckled in behind the wheel,
she watched the water rise above her." ... "Fighting what she called "excruciating
pain," Babatz, 22, escaped through a window and swam to the rubble of the
collapsed bridge." ... ""I was crying for help, but there were cries for
help all around me," she said." ... "It took Babatz about 30 minutes to
get out of the water. She said she looked back, and her car was gone."
-CNN
20070802
-
Minnesota
- I-35W
Bridge Collapse - Disaster
- Vehicles
- Transportation
- Construction
- Technology
- Politics
- Government
- River
- "Minn.
bridge problems uncovered in 1990." ... "Minnesota
officials were warned as early as 1990 that the [Minneapolis, Minnesota
I-35W] bridge that plummeted into the Mississippi River was "structurally
deficient," yet they relied on a strategy of patchwork fixes and stepped-up
inspections." ... "In 1990, the federal government gave the I-35W bridge
a rating of "structurally deficient," citing significant corrosion in its
bearings. The bridge is one of 77,000 bridges in that category nationwide,
1,160 in Minnesota alone." ... "[Bridge engineer Dan] Dorgan said the bearings
could not have been repaired without jacking up the entire deck of the
bridge. Because the bearings were not sliding, inspectors concluded the
corrosion was not a major issue." ... "During the 1990s, later inspections
found fatigue cracks and corrosion in the steel around the bridge's joints.
Those problems were repaired. Starting in 1993, the state said, the bridge
was inspected annually instead of every other year." ... "A 2005 federal
inspection also rated the bridge structurally deficient, giving it a 50
on scale of 100 for structural stability." ... "The eight-lane Interstate
35W bridge was Minnesota's busiest bridge, carrying 141,000 vehicles a
day. It was in the midst of mostly repaving repairs when it buckled during
the evening rush hour. Dozens of cars plummeted more than 60 feet into
the Mississippi River, some falling on top one of another. A school bus
sat on the angled concrete." -By Sharon Cohen and
Brian Bakst with contributions by Seth Borenstein, Martiga Lohn, Ryan Foley
and Jon Krawczynski -AP
via -Yahoo
-
Minnesota
- Transportation
- Disaster
- Lawmakers
- Construction
-
 Money
- Politics
- "Bridge
collapse renews focus on transportation funding debate."
... "Two key Minnesota lawmakers are angry that it has taken a tragedy
to free up money for such an essential piece of the state's transportation
infrastructure." ... "A former Minnesota transportation official says the
total cost including demolition and new construction, could be $400 million."
... "However, two key Minnesota lawmakers are angry it's taken a disaster
to get people's attention." ... "State [Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Party Representative] Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL-St. Paul [Minnesota], and
chair of the House bonding committee, has many of the same questions as
others about why the bridge collapsed." ... ""Did we do due diligence in
our inspections, and our response to those inspections?" she asked." ...
"Hausman cautions it is wise to wait for the investigation to supply answers
about what caused the bridge collapse." ... "She is not willing, for example,
to assert that years of deferred state transportation maintenance spending
is a cause." ... "What makes her angry, she says, is the criticism aimed
at her and other lawmakers who, over the years, have advocated spending
more on repairing Minnesota's transportation infrastructure." ... "State
[Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Senator] Sen. Keith Langseth,
on the other hand, points directly at Gov. [Minnesota Republican Governor
Tim] Pawlenty for not paying attention to the state's infrastructure needs."
... ""I've been in it for six governors. On infrastructure this one is
the worst, without any question," said Langseth." ... "He says the governor
is responsible for ignoring transportation maintenance." ... ""He thinks
he can just keep pushing this stuff off, whether it's by bonding rather
than paying cash, or just not doing it," said Langseth. "He thinks he can
get that beyond his tenure in office and just dump it on to somebody else,
and it caught up with him."" -By Dan Olson
-MPR -PublicRadio.org
20070715
-
Minnesota
- Legislature
- Transportation
- Politics
- "Speedy
veto from Pawlenty strikes down higher gas tax."
... "Less than 24 hours after the Minnesota Legislature sent him a transportation
bill, [Minnesota Republican Governor Tim] Pawlenty struck it down Tuesday."
... "However, DFL [Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party] lawmakers said
they are looking toward attempting to override his veto on their bill instead,
with the potential help of a handful of House Republicans." ... "DFL House
Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher called Pawlenty's stance on roads and
transit "a bit out of step with the needs of the state in terms of transportation.""
-MPR -PublicRadio.org
|
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Minnesota Bridge Collapse News Sources:
MPR -PublicRadio.org
Minnesota
Bridge Collapse
I-35W
bridge fact sheet
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