'Working theory' blames design, weight for I-35W bridge collapse
- From: "Rocky" <wookiee@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2007 20:55:51 -0600
'Working theory' blames design, weight for I-35W bridge collapse
The Trucker News Services
11/2/2007
MINNEAPOLIS - Investigators have a "working theory" that a poorly designed
gusset plate and excessive weight on the Interstate 35W bridge led to the
bridge's fatal collapse on Aug. 1, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters
says.
Peters' remarks, made Thursday during a formal address to the White House
Transportation Legislative Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C., mirrored
statements she made in August, a week after the Minneapolis bridge collapse.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the
collapse, has said it will be at least a year before a formal finding is
available.
NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson acknowledged the board is looking at design
issues and the gusset plates, which connected steel beams, as well as the
weight of construction materials and equipment on the bridge, among other
factors.
"We're also looking at the maintenance and repair history. We're looking at
the de-icing fluids - any role they may have played. We basically haven't
ruled anything out yet," Knudson said.
State Sen. Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, who chairs the Minnesota Senate
Transportation Committee, said Peters told the Washington gathering that he
attended that "a finding of fault was not going to be lack of inspection or
lack of maintenance" by state officials.
"I think it taints the findings," he said.
A spokesman for Peters, Brian Turmail, said the NTSB "would want to look
into whether lack of maintenance was a factor in the collapse of the
bridge."
But Turmail added that "the working theory at the NTSB is that it is not a
lack of inspections, but a design flaw and weight."
A design flaw would give administration critics less of an opening to hold
current officials at the Minnesota Department of Transportation or Gov. Tim
Pawlenty responsible for the collapse, which killed 13 people and injured
more than 100.
Construction of a replacement bridge began Thursday.
Peters Thursday also announced that $123.5 million in emergency relief
funding was released to help pay for rebuilding the Interstate 35W bridge
that collapsed in August.
This brings the total federal transportation investment in the recovery and
rebuilding effort to $183.5 million.
"The President and I continue to provide the federal government's full
support and the necessary financial resources to rebuild this bridge,"
Peters said.
Peters said that the DOT remained committed to paying the full cost of
eligible repairs to rebuild the bridge and will reimburse Minnesota as
additional costs are incurred.
The FHWA's emergency relief program provides funds to states for the repair
or reconstruction of federal-aid highways damaged by natural disasters or
catastrophic events. The program typically works on a reimbursable basis.
Construction was cleared to begin Thursday after a after a Ramsey County
judge declined to hold up the $234 million project.
Judge Edward Cleary on Wednesday rejected an attempt by two construction
executives to freeze work on the site while they challenge the Minnesota
Department of Transportation's contract with a team led by Flatiron
Constructors of Colorado. The executives alleged that Flatiron won unfairly
and sought to void the contract.
Cleary didn't give them much hope. Although he didn't rule on the merits of
their case, his ruling suggested they are unlikely to succeed.
And he said the public's need to quickly replace the bridge - a Minneapolis
artery that carried more than 140,000 vehicles a day before the Aug. 1
collapse - trumped their complaints about the process. Flatiron has pledged
to finish the bridge by Christmas 2008.
"Since there is not enough evidence in the Court's mind to conclude that the
contract is likely illegal, the more distinct harm of additional costs and
delay to the public and direct harm to the Defendants outweighs Plaintiffs'
potential harm," Cleary wrote.
But the Minnesota Department of Transportation didn't come out of the ruling
unscathed. Cleary said the agency shouldn't have signed a contract with
Flatiron on the same day technical scores for the four bidders were released
to the public.
"By signing a contract with the successful bidder before releasing the
underlying data that led to that decision, Mn/DOT cloaked the decision in
secrecy," his ruling said.
Bob McFarlin, assistant to the state transportation commissioner, didn't
address the criticism in a prepared statement. He said speedy replacement of
the bridge is essential, estimating the economic loss from the bridge's
absence at $500,000 a day.
"It is vital to metro area commuters and the state's economy that the I-35W
bridge be reconstructed as soon as possible," he said.
http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2007/11/2/WorkingtheoryblamesdesignweightforI-35Wbridgecollapse.aspx
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