By Chris Joyce

Less than two weeks after the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Mn/DOT has begun the process of building a new bridge to replace the structure that once carried more than 140,000 vehicles across it daily.

“Recovering emotionally from a tragedy of this magnitude takes time, but the critical importance of the I-35W corridor to our entire state requires us to respond in a rapid but thoughtful manner as we begin to design and build a new bridge,” Lt. Gov./Commissioner Carol Molnau said in a letter sent this week to public officials.

The I-35W bridge reconstruction, which will be built as a design-build project, has a target completion date of late 2008.

“Safety will not be sacrificed for schedule,” said Jon Chiglo, project manager for the I-35W bridge reconstruction. “Quality will not be compromised in either the design or the construction.”

Chiglo and other department representatives presented a preliminary design for the new bridge before the Minneapolis City Council Intergovernmental Relations Committee on Aug. 14. Today they made three separate presentations before the Metropolitan Council Transportation Advisory Board and the Central Corridor Management Committee; the House and Senate Transportation Committees; and Hennepin County and the communities along the I-35W corridor.  

In addition, an open house is scheduled for Aug. 16 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Roseville Area High School, a half-mile east of Metro District headquarters in Roseville. The public is invited to view the tentative plans and talk with Mn/DOT staff and project engineers.

New bridge plans

Mn/DOT's preliminary design for the new I-35W bridge calls for 10 lanes of traffic, five in each direction, which is two lanes wider than the former bridge. The new bridge will be 180 feet wide to provide more lane and shoulder capacity; that’s 80 feet wider than the former bridge. The structure will be designed for a 100-year life span.

Mn/DOT engineers will consider steel or concrete-and-steel construction as design possibilities. In addition, they are analyzing the feasability of building the new bridge to accommodate a potential light rail line in the future.

Five contracting teams—Ames/Lunda, C.S. McCrossan, Flatiron Constructors, Inc. and Johnson Bros., KTM Constructors (JV of Kiewitt/Traylor Bros/Massman) and Walsh Construction/American Bridge—have submitted Statements of Qualifications to bid on the I-35W bridge reconstruction project. The teams will now submit a proposal and cost estimate.  

The principal funding for the new bridge will come from the federal government’s emergency relief program. However, improvements to interchanges on either end of the bridge will be separate projects and will require separate funding.  

For more information, see:

• Proposed plans for 1-35W bridge reconstruction
• Comment on plans for the new bridge
• I-35W bridge updates

By Donna Lindberg

The collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge on Aug. 1 immediately stopped the flow of 141,000 vehicles that used that route daily. Mn/DOT had to respond quickly to find ways to accommodate that traffic on other parts of the system.

“Hwy 280 was the obvious immediate detour for traffic driving through the area because of its close proximity to I-35W,” said Nick Thompson, Metro District east area manager. “We knew people going downtown could still use I-35W and cross the river on local bridges.”  

However, Hwy 280 needed to be modified into a freeway-type system in order to work as a primary detour route.

“The first thing we did was remove the traffic signals and access to Hwy 280 at County Road B and Broadway Avenue,” Thompson said. “Accesses from Walnut Street and Roselawn Avenue to Hwy 280 were also closed indefinitely.”

Work was also done last weekend to widen the ramp from northbound Hwy 280 to northbound I-35W from one to two lanes.

“The bridge collapse caused an immediate bottleneck there during the afternoon rush,” Thompson said. “We are already seeing positive results from this project and traffic is flowing much better.”

Hwy 280 will be reduced to one lane in each direction this weekend for a project to create a diamond interchange at Larpenteur Avenue and Hennepin Avenue that involves improving ramp connections, adding signals and closing ramp loops. In the next few weeks, continuous lighting will be added to increase night time safety.

Elsewhere, Twin Cities area motorists will experience major delays this weekend on eastbound and westbound I-94 that will be closed between Hwy 280 and I-35W. This closure will allow crews to enhance the shoulders and add a lane in each direction. The eastbound I-94 exit to northbound Hwy 280 will also be converted to a two-lane exit.

Improvements have been made to other parts of the system affected by the reroute of I-35W traffic.

“The entrance ramp from northbound Hwy 100 to I-694 is currently being widened from one to two lanes. An auxiliary lane has also been added on southbound Hwy 100 between Duluth Street and Hwy 55,” Thompson said.

Mn/DOT and the Metropolitan Council are encouraging I-35W commuters to use transit, carpool or telecommute during the bridge closure. Metro Transit has added some routes and rerouted buses that previously used I-35W via I-694 to I-94 to downtown Minneapolis.

“I-694 is very congested so Mn/DOT added a bus shoulder on east and westbound I-694 between I-35W and I-94 to accommodate the additional buses,” Thompson said.

In order to get all this work done quickly, changes to processes and staff had to be made.

“Every maintenance person available as well as people from other districts and Central Office have put in a lot of long hours,” said Thompson.  

“We were able to get incredible support from Mn/DOT staff as well local and federal agencies to put emergency contracts into effect quickly. Since much of the work was temporary and not meant to last, we didn’t have to go through a lengthy environmental approval process.”

Twin Cities motorists are changing their travel patterns in response to the loss of the I-35W bridge.

“State highways and interstates can’t accommodate all the trips from I-35W,” said Brian Kary, Freeway Operations Engineer at the Regional Transportation Management Center. “Traffic is now pretty fluid, but we will see more of a pattern by fall when everyone is back in school. By then people will have shifted to transit or adjusted their routes.”

“The road and transit enhancements will help ease the pressure on the system caused by the extra I-35W traffic. We will follow the situation day-by-day and make changes as needed,” Thompson said. “But we want the majority of work done by October when our options become limited.”

For more information about traffic improvements to I-94 and Hwy 280 and for a traffic detour map for I-94 weekend work, go to http://www.dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/traffic_changes.html.

By Nick Carpenter

Mn/DOT’s recently constructed I-35W Bridge Web site continues to be updated with new information daily.

You can access the site directly, http://www.dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/index.html, or link to it from Mn/DOT’s home page, www.mndot.gov.

The bridge homepage offers links to the latest information regarding the collapse, including daily updates, detour information and maps, news releases and fact sheets.

A new page dedicated to the rebuilding of the bridge can also be accessed from the site. Employees can view its contents by clicking on the Rebuild tab near the top of the homepage. There, visitors will be able to review proposed plans for the I-35W Rebuild and submit comments pertaining to the new bridge.

There are additional links to bridge information and other involved agency Web sites located in the sidebar on the far right side of the page.

If you have comments or questions about the Web site,
contact the Web Development Team by e-mail at: webmaster@dot.state.mn.us.

Employees also can catch up on the latest national, state and local news involving Mn/DOT and transportation by viewing the Daily News Clippings on the department’s internal Web site at http://ihub/currentClips.html.      

By Craig Wilkins

Mike Robinson, Duluth/District 1 engineer, made the offer to Duane Hill about as directly as possible.

“Mike said, ‘Duane, I have a special assignment for you; think about it for 30 seconds and then say yes,’” Hill said.

The assignment was serving as coordinator of the statewide bridge inspections mandated by Gov. Tim Pawlenty after the collapse of the Interstate-35W bridge in Minneapolis.

Hill, assistant district engineer for operations, accepted readily.

In taking the position, Hill embarked on what might be the greatest challenge he’ll face during his Mn/DOT career.

Hill is soft-spoken, wears his hair short and exudes modesty. But he is confident and possesses a strong desire for excellence in public service. He also benefits from serving as District 2’s bridge engineer from 2000 until 2005.

Those qualities led to Robinson’s decision (after consultation with Bridge Office managers) to offer Hill the extraordinary position.

Now, instead of reporting to his office in Duluth, Hill makes the short drive from his motel room to the Bridge Office in Oakdale for work days that begin in the early morning hours, then meld into the afternoon and evening.

Hill’s responsibilities include ensuring that all fracture-critical bridges in Minnesota and all of the 3,419 bridges on the state’s trunk highway system be inspected by the end of this year.

“Our primary mission is inspecting 217 fracture-critical bridges in all jurisdictions, all bridges on our trunk highways and restoring public confidence in the safety of our bridges and the soundness our inspection procedures,” Hill said.

“We will also look inward to examine any needed changes in our inspection procedure and policies.”

Hill’s tasks include managing contracts for bridge inspection firms, encouraging local units of government to conduct bridge inspections and working with the FHWA on its assessment of bridge inspection procedures. He expects to remain on the special assignment from six months to a year or longer.

You have an immense amount of responsibility, how do you handle it?

I’ve been in management long enough to know the key is to delegate. I can’t do it all; I have to trust that people will fulfill their responsibilities and do the right thing.

You’ll be away from home for long periods of time for the next several months, how will your family manage?

Fortunately, my wife Kathleen is a full-time mom, so she can care for our house and our son, Kendall, while I’m away.

This is a very emotional and challenging time for Mn/DOT, how will you take care of yourself?

I work four-day weeks in Oakdale, I can take some work home with me and spend weekend time with my family fishing or spending time outdoors. Being at home helps me to re-energize and to keep my life and my work duties balanced and in focus.

What do you see as positive outcomes of the bridge collapse and subsequent investigations?  

If there is a silver lining, it’s raised awareness of funding needs for the state’s and the nation’s infrastructure. And there may be a series of structured meetings involving neighboring states sharing information on bridge inspection policies and practices.

One positive thing that has occurred is the recognition by the FHWA and other agencies of our expertise in bridge inspection. That’s why they allowed Mn/DOT’s own corps of well-trained and highly qualified bridge inspectors to participate in the statewide bridge review.

And they may know, as I certainly do, that our bridge people are level-headed and committed to the safety of those who use the state’s bridges and highways.

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