August 7, 2007 - MnDOT says the 35W bridge was fully capable of carrying the some 140,000 cars and trucks that used it at the time of its collapse last week. Transportation officials won't speculate on whether the amount of traffic somehow contributed to the failure of the bridge. However, the head of the University of Minnesota engineering department says increased traffic on a bridge experiencing fatigue will shorten its life span. When it collapsed, the 35W bridge was 40 years old, but its life span was predicted to be 50 years. Minnesota Public Radio's Sea Stachura reports.
August 7, 2007 - The push to rebuild the I-35W bridge is on the "fastest of fast tracks" with the hopes that the new bridge will be built by the end of next year. Officials with the Minnesota Department of Transportation are accepting applications from companies that intend to bid on the job, through tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.
August 7, 2007 - Officials with the Minnesota Department of Transportation are hoping that construction crews can begin rebuilding the I-35W bridge by mid-September. Governor Pawlenty, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, and Transportation Commssioner Carol Molnau met today at 6 a.m. They hope to narrow the list by Friday and have a company selected by September 1st.
August 7, 2007 - Local officials say they hope help from federal sources will lead to progress in the search for missing people following last Wednesday's bridge collapse. Crews from the Navy and the FBI joined the search yesterday, bringing with them fresh manpower and sophisticated equipment, including an unmanned submarine. Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek comments.
August 7, 2007 - A consultant's report last summer warned the Minnesota Department of Transportation that the areas of the Interstate 35W bridge that were hardest to see were considered most susceptible to fatigue cracking. The consultant told state officials that if a crack did occur from some unusual causes it wasn't likely that it would be discovered quickly. Bob McFarlin, assistant to transportation commissioner Carol Molnau, does not dispute the report's warning. But he told MPR that the National Transportation Safety Board will look at all inspection reports as part of its investigation.
August 7, 2007 - Designers and builders face a Wednesday morning deadline to show they're qualified to bid on the 35W bridge replacement project. State transportation officials have put the project on a fast track. They plan to award contracts next month, with the goal of having a new bridge standing at the end of 2008. Bob McFarlin, assistant to state transportation commissioner Carol Molnau, says the design of a new bridge has not yet been determined. But he says advanced engineering and technology will be included.
August 7, 2007 - Midday’s Gary Eichten talks with Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan and Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek about the I-35W bridge search and recovery efforts. The police officials also answer listener questions.
August 7, 2007 - An update on the traffic situation, and the latest on what the Minnesota Department of Transportation's plans are for replacing the I-35W bridge. Missing weapons in Iraq may be helping the insurgency. The GAO, an investigative arm of Congress, says 30 percent of weapons given to Iraqi forces are now missing. Previous government audits also have found small arms might be falling into the hands of insurgents.
August 8, 2007 - Cell phone communication near downtown Minneapolis jammed within moments of the bridge collapse. Rescuers and law enforcement officers sprang into action but needed street maps, ongoing traffic information and a way to monitor the site. The resulting communications demands put the city of Minneapolis' fledgling wireless network to the test. Within an hour of the disaster, the head of USI Wireless, the company responsible for the network, opened the system to free access and got an effort going to install additional access points around the bridge site that weren't already covered. The number of wireless users in that part of the city jumped six fold overnight. Future Tense's Art Hughes reports.
August 8, 2007 - The State of Minnesota does not plan on wasting any time replacing the bridge that collapsed a week ago. Officials have already closed the deadline for bids on the new bridge construction and will narrow their choices down to three players by Friday. The hope is to have a new bridge in place by the end of 2008. The schedule may seem impossibly fast. But observers in the bridge industry say the timeline is reasonable due to advancements in technology and materials.Minnesota Public Radio's Annie Baxter has more.