Details are beginning to emerge about the State's role in the period prior to the I35 Bridge collapse. According to the Star Tribune (emphasis is mine):
More than a year before the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed, a consulting firm advised the state of Minnesota that the aging bridge should be reinforced with steel plating.
Instead of following that advice, state officials asked the firm to come up with other options.
Six months later, the URS Corp. did just that. It repeated its recommendation for steel plates, but offered an alternative described as "most cost efficient" -- the state could inspect the 40-year-old bridge for cracks and repair any it found.
State officials claim that safety rather than monetary concerns dominated policy decisions, but one has to wonder why the state in pursuing the cheaper option did not opt for the cutting edge technology for this purpose. Instead, they relied visual inspection. Rep. Obserstar (Democrat, MN) wants answers:
"Technology can discover microscopic cracks not visible to the naked eye and then measure their propagation and do the same with bridges," he said on the House floor. "The Minnesota Department of Transportation was offered the opportunity to use that technology and I am disappointed that the state rejected the opportunity to use that technology to test the structural integrity of the bridge that collapsed."
The technology Oberstar mentioned was offered to MnDOT in December by a California company, Materials Technology Inc. The company was seeking a $200,000 contract to use its new electro-chemical fatigue system on the I-35W bridge.
MnDOT turned it down, according to Oberstar.
It seems to many that the safety of citizens is being sacrificed in order to prevent tax increases. Governor Pawlenty has been adament about not raising taxes. In response to a bipartisan bill that was passed to cover transportation in Minnesota, Pawlenty said "How dumb can they be?."
Literally wielding a big red VETO stamp to appease the no-tax crowd that remains hell-bent on a something-for-nothing relationship with government, Gov. Tim Pawlenty deep-sixed the bipartisan transportation bill. 'How dumb can they be?' he sneered of the lawmakers who dared approve a tax hike to fix the state's roads.
A pattern has emerged that republican's plans to drown government in the bathtub are having a serious negative impact on the health of the nation.
The Republican philosophy of spending without collecting money to pay the bills is naive. They have also spent the money wrecklessly on pork for their oil and other corporate connections and on a misguided war. Although the blame for the bridge collapse cannot be, at this time, assigned to anyone, the philosophy that led to our ailing state and national infrastructure clearly has a republican stamp on it. 
Caption: Money for bridges and state infrastructure not for stadiums. 
Caption: Money for levees not for war
I like what Randi Rhodes said. She wants to caption a picture of the 35W collapse with:
"Your Tax Cuts At Work"
For myself, when they were all talking about
"Building A Bridge To The 21st Century"
during the 2000 Election, it was *this* that they were meaning....
Posted by: Nyc Alberts | August 05, 2007 at 12:00 AM
Nyc Alberts -- that's a great comment and a great idea.
Did you check out my friend's commentary on the same protest? She is the one with the sign showing the portraits of Bush and Pawlenty at the head of the article.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_kathlyn__070804_how_do_we_make_them_.htm
Posted by: Kayakbiker | August 05, 2007 at 08:55 AM
Wow I'm enjoying these pics!
Posted by: not my president | August 05, 2007 at 09:21 AM