The August 1 collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minnesota sent a shockwave through the country. The President signed a bill to fund the rebuilding. Congress is calling for inspection and repair of bridges nationwide, with funding coming from raising gasoline taxes. State legislatures are looking for ways to insure the safety of their bridges, calling for inspections and repairs where needed. Many of these bridges have been reported as needing repair, but have gone without due to budget constraints.
In related news, the I-40 bridge between Tennessee and Arkansas was closed for nine hours on August 27 after a pier under an approach span settled some three inches overnight. The span was checked and determined to be safe; the bridge has since reopened.
Ironically, the Minnesota bridge was actually under repair when it collapsed, part of a $9 million project; possibly a case of too little too late. The cause of the failure has not yet been determined, although the initial investigation has been completed, the bodies of the victims have been recovered, and the cars removed from the site. Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., a forensic engineering firm, will be hired to perform an independent investigation to determine the cause of the collapse. The National Transportation Safety Board will also conduct its own investigation to determine what led the collapse of the bridge.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MN/DoT) has chosen to repair the bridge as a fast-track design-build project. We will be following the progress of the project in a series of articles in Design-Build DATELINE.
MN/DoT has stated that an important factor in choosing design-build was to have the new bridge open as soon as possible; they expect to have the project complete by the end of 2008. Other factors were ggreater innovation and flexibility in selecting design, materials, and construction methods,h greduced claims due to design errors,h gaccelerated response time and dispute resolution through a team effort,h and a single contact point.
The project has already gone into motion - Statements of Qualifications were due on August 8, and the short list of firms has been chosen. The state has retained Carl Bolander and Sons to remove the debris; they began transferring some of the bridge wreckage to barges to aid the victim recovery efforts.
Preliminary plans for the location and improvements to the bridge and its access roadways have been drawn up. The new bridge will be wider, with the addition of one lane in each direction and additional shoulder capacity, and will be designed to have a 100-year life span. In addition, the state is working with a number of other agencies and groups to insure that there will be no adverse impact on the environment, historic and archaeological sites, recreational facilities, and that it will be visually appealing.
The state has also scheduled a series of community meetings to review the planned changes and how they will affect those living and traveling in the area.
Complete information about the project and its progress can be found on the MN/DoT web site, www.dot.state.mn.us/designbuild/35wbrproject.html.
INFO: Minnesota Department of Transportation (www.dot.state.mn.us)