Mpls 35W Bridge Update: Rebuild awash in scandal?
Tue Aug 14, 2007 at 09:51:21 AM PDT
At 2PM Central Time, five new bridge designs will be presented to the public. We will be able to comment on the designs. Here is the link:
http://www.dot.state.mn.us/...
Two issues have recently come to the fore front on the rebuild. The first is that a federal bridge paid for through emergency funds allows for no alternative transportation modes, no pedestrians, bicycles, or light rail access. The second is that the federal highway official that will be in charge of the 35W Bridge Rebuild is from the Big Dig in Boston and has had past disagreements with Sen. Kerry. More after the fold.
This Star & Tribune article discusses some of the issues and problems related to limits the federal money puts on the design of the bridge:
Rybak's lofty goals for the bridge run counter to the U.S. Department of Transportation's emergency funding rules that authorize only the replacement of an "equivalent" structure. Congress would likely permit additional traffic lanes, but not another mode of transportation, such as light rail.
.........
The design of the replacement bridge will be intentionally left vague to allow for flexibility for the builder, said Minneapolis Public Works Director Steve Kotke. Ultimately, the state will have five different designs from which to choose, he said.
Design experts said it's an opportunity to think big.
"Rather than just doing another old bridge, it might be nice to have something dramatic and exciting -- and of course the essence of safety," said architect Ralph Rapson.
Judith Martin, director of the urban studies program at the University of Minnesota, said anybody hoping for something grand and fancy should rein in their expectations. Federal highway bridges tend to be "extremely utilitarian" with more attention paid to load bearing ability than design. "Think about all the interstate bridges in the Twin Cities. Are any of them memorable?" she asked.
This second Star & Tribune article discusses the issues surrounding Capka being in charge of the 35W Rebuid:
The federal highway official responsible for the rebuilding of the collapsed Interstate 35W bridge was dismissed in 2002 as chief executive of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority after his leadership of Boston's controversial "Big Dig" tunnel project came under fire.
J. Richard Capka, the nation's federal highway administrator and a retired brigadier general in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, arrived in the Twin Cities on Monday night in preparation for the first public meeting today on the design and construction of the new bridge. Gov. Tim Pawlenty and state transportation officials say they are determined to complete the project by the end of 2008.
But Capka's role with the $14.6 billion Big Dig project has twice drawn criticism from U.S. Sen. John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, who briefly blocked Capka's approval as federal highway administrator.
Capka headed the Big Dig, the nation's largest construction project, from 2000 to 2002. His dismissal came about seven months after he received criticism for approving lucrative six-month severance agreements for three attorneys on the project's payroll. Capka told the Boston Globe newspaper that his decision to sign the severance packages without a vote by the Turnpike Authority's board was "ill-advised."
They're moving forward at a fast pace in Minneapolis. While everyone wants a new bridge up as soon as possible, it should be done right. And that means with responsible management and responsible design.
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