Tom Warne Report, 25 September 2013
In the years since the I-35W bridge collapse, dozens of local and state bridges across Minnesota have undergone significant rehabilitation or been completely replaced. Crews are working on a new concrete bridge over the Mississippi River in Hastings, Minn., that will replace the more narrow, steel-truss bridge. The new bridge will have all four lanes open by this winter, with two lanes already open to carry the heavily traveled Highway 61 in Hastings. Bridges have become a top priority in the state: the old Hastings bridge originally scheduled to be replaced in 2018, but when the span was deemed unreliable by transportation officials, the $130 million project was moved quickly ahead.
Bridge safety is a nationwide issue of concern, but Minnesota is one of the most vigilant, ever since the rush-hour collapse of the I-35W bridge in August 2007 in which 13 were killed. As a result of that catastrophe, legislators approved a gas tax hike to pay for a 10-year bridge construction program focusing on the most deficient. The Minnesota Department of Transportation reports that about $1.2 billion has gone toward the effort thus far.
Dozens of bridges in Minnesota, including spans under local governments’ management, will be closed, torn down or replaced before the state’s campaign ends. Many, like the Hastings bridge, jumped ahead on the construction schedule. By 2018, six Minnesota bridges on the Mississippi River alone will be rehabilitated or replaced.
MnDOT State Bridge Engineer Nancy Daubenberger said that the infusion of money for bridges allowed the state to make much more progress than would otherwise have been able to fund this quickly. She said it may not be a practical goal to try to get the number of bridges that are structurally deficient down to zero.
“Will there be a day where we have no fracture critical bridges in the system? Quite possibly,” Daubenberger said.
The funding for Minnesota bridge work is scheduled to run out in about five years. The attempt last session to advance a major transportation financing plan failed, but state lawmakers plan to try again in 2014.
