Bridges

The Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Donald C. Winter, surveyed recovery efforts at the site of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minn., on Aug. 8.
Secretary Winter also met with Navy divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 and officials from local, state and federal agencies involved in the search and recovery efforts.    » read more »

09 August 2007 -- Emergency workers in the northern U.S. city of Minneapolis have pulled two bodies from the site of last week's deadly highway bridge collapse, raising the death toll to seven.

Authorities said the bodies, so far unidentified, were pulled from the wreckage Thursday.

Five other casualties of the bridge collapse have been identified.

Divers from the U.S. Navy and Federal Bureau of Investigation have been helping local divers search for more victims.

Authorities say the bridge collapse injured 100 others.    » read more »

August 8, 2007 -- WARRENTON - Missouri Governor Matt Blunt today announced that the city of Warrenton has been approved for an $180,500 Community Block Development Grant (CDBG) emergency grant. The emergency grant will be utilized to replace a pedestrian railroad bridge on Steinhagen Road.

“I am pleased we are able to help the City of Warrenton replace this bridge,” Blunt said. “Public safety is one of the most important obligations government has to Missourians and this action will help keep an important passageway secure.”    » read more »

New precaution follows MN bridge collapse, Governor’s instruction to review all similar bridges

August 9, 2007 -- GLENVIEW – In response to the collapse of the bridge that was under construction in Minnesota last week, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) announced it will take additional steps in advance of bridge rehabilitation projects to ensure that the structures can safely carry traffic while they are under construction. This will require the temporary closure of these structures before the projects can proceed.    » read more »

August 6, 2007 -- ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Networks of small, permanently mounted sensors could soon check continuously for the formation of structural defects in I-beams and other critical structural supports of bridges and highway overpasses, giving structural engineers a better chance of heading off catastrophic failures.

A Sandia National Laboratories team is developing and evaluating a family of such sensors for use on a variety of safety-critical structures. Full-time monitoring sensors already have been tested and proven by Sandia for use on aircraft structures.    » read more »

8/8/2007 -- MINNEAPOLIS (NNS) -- Navy Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 from Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek arrived in Minneapolis Minn., Aug. 6 and spent their first full day, Aug. 7, working with local authorities canvassing the wreckage from the I-35 bridge collapse.

“MDSU-2 is here to assist at the Department of Transportation’s request. They asked for assistance from the Department of Defense,” said Capt. Rich Hooper, director of ocean engineering supervisor of salvage and diving, Naval Sea Systems Command.    » read more »

August 8, 2007 -- MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Department of Defense has deployed a Defense Coordinating Element to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area to assist with last week's I-35 bridge collapse.    » read more »

August 8, 2007 -- "Earlier today, I convened a meeting with my Deputy Secretary for Economic Development and Infrastructure, Tim Gilchrist; Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Executive Director and CEO, Lee Sander; Port Authority Executive Director, Anthony Shorris; Thruway Authority Executive Director Michael Fleischer; Bridge Authority Executive Director George Sinnott; and Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner, Astrid Glynn, along with the state’s top engineering experts and federal and city officials to review the status of all of the state’s major bridges and inspec    » read more »

8/7/2007 -- WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Air Force Reserve C-130 Hercules aircraft are rushing equipment needed to rescue six miners trapped in a cave-in in Huntington, Utah, and Navy divers are ready to begin work at the site of the collapsed bridge in Minneapolis.

The Department of Labor asked for the aircraft to move a seismic vehicle, a shelter, an auxiliary truck and a small number of people to Utah. In Minneapolis, about 30 Defense Department personnel are working in support of state and local authorities.    » read more »

On Monday, August 6, 2007, the President signed into law:

H.R. 3311, which authorizes additional funds for emergency repairs and reconstruction of the Interstate I-35 bridge located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that collapsed on August 1, 2007, and waives the limitation on emergency relief funds for those emergency repairs and reconstruction.

Source: White House

Touts New State-of-the-Art Safety Design Used on the Marquette Interchange

August 07, 2007 -- Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle today announced the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) will complete inspections of the 15 deck truss bridges in the state within the next two weeks. A 16th deck truss bridge located in Burnett County has been removed and is currently being rebuilt. The Governor also directed WisDOT to take the added step of installing sensors on the 15 bridges to provide 24-hour monitoring to test the structures.    » read more »

August 7, 2007 -- Saint Paul - Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty today ordered that the United States flag and the State of Minnesota flag be flown at half-staff at the State Capitol complex from sunrise until sunset on Wednesday, August 8 in honor and remembrance of the victims of the I-35W bridge collapse that occurred a week ago Wednesday at 6:05 p.m.

The following is the text of the Governor’s official proclamation:

Whereas: On Wednesday, August 1, 2007, at 6:05 p.m., the Interstate 35W bridge spanning the Mississippi River collapsed in Minneapolis; and    » read more »

Proceeds to benefit MinnesotaHelps.org, Shane Reardon Memorial Foundation and Twins Community Fund

08/06/2007, MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL -- The Minnesota Twins today announced that 1,000 limited edition bobblehead doll sets commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 1987 World Champion Minnesota Twins will be available for purchase exclusively at TwinsBaseball.com/1987 beginning Thursday, August 9 at 9 a.m. (Central Time). There is a limit of two sets per buyer.    » read more »

08/02/2007 -- SANTA FE -- Governor Bill Richardson today directed the Department of Transportation to conduct a comprehensive inspection of key New Mexico bridges as a result of the tragic bridge collapse on I-35 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

"Today, I have directed our bridge inspection teams to immediately review the safety of four steel-truss bridges in New Mexico that have a similar construction to the bridge in Minneapolis," Governor Bill Richardson said.    » read more »

August 3, 2007 -- Washington, DC — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today after the Senate secured emergency funds for Minneapolis following Wednesday’s tragic bridge collapse.    » read more »