Minnesota Has Some ‘Splaining To Do

There was much screeching and finger-pointing when the Minneapolis bridge collapsed, much of it aimed at the Federal government and the lack of funding for infrastructure. That collapse is a tragedy and should not have happened, mind you. But it appears that the fingers may have been pointed the wrong way entirely. Photos taken in 2003 of the bridge – for a state-sponsored inspection, no less – show deformation of at least two of the gusset plates thought to be the reason for the collapse. Got that? Photos taken four years before the collapse show serious problems in the supports that held the bridge up.

MINNEAPOLIS – Old photos of the Interstate 35W bridge show two steel connecting plates were visibly bent as early as 2003 — four years before the span collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people.

Minnesota Department of Transportation officials declined to say when the state first knew about the bending in the pieces of steel, called gusset plates.

Two photos, part of a report issued earlier this month by the National Transportation Safety Board, reveal slight bends in gusset plates that hold beams together at two separate connecting points. The plates are in areas believed to be among the first points of failure when the span collapsed.

State officials responsible for the inspection of bridges are not answering phone calls from reporters asking about this. Lawyers representing victims of the bridge collapse are howling mad about the photos. They should be. Someone needs to answer for this and quickly. Both the firm conducting the inspection and the state office overseeing the inspection have real problems here – and will have some very big demands for explanations to answer. I think there is a reason why the phone calls are not being returned. There could well be criminal liability here.