Commentary; Posted: 8/8/07
Legislative Leaders discuss bridge collapse
T.W. Budig
ECM capitol reporter
Political waves from the collapsed I-35W bridge continue to roll.
House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, said Friday (Aug. 3) that members to a joint House/Senate Transportation Committee — one designed to assess bridge and transportation needs — will likely be named late next week, speaking on Minnesota Public Radio.
The committee itself, a possible forerunner to a special legislative session, could begin holding meetings the week of Aug. 13th.
“Our transportation debate has changed from a debate about congestion and the condition of our roads to a life and safety debate,” said Kelliher.
“I don’t even know if it’s a debate anymore,” she said.
Kelliher and House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, indicated legislative hearings should take place first before Gov. Tim Pawlenty would call a special legislative session.
A Special Session?
Pawlenty has indicated a special session, which only he can call, is likely.
One local lawmaker, Rep. Jeremy Kalin, DFL-Lindstrom, who serves on the House transportation committee and possibly could be appointed to the joint committee, believes lawmakers should act calmly.
“I am concerned about us all making a quick response when what we need is the right response,” said Kalin.
Rep. Will Morgan, DFL-Burnsville, also sees the joint committee as something of a first step. “We’ll start getting to the bottom of this,” he said of the bridge disaster. Like Kalin, Morgan, too, possibly could be assigned to the joint committee.
MnDOT officials at a Friday press conference announced that bridge inspections on three bridges similar in design to the failed 35W bridge in Minneapolis have begun.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty ordered the inspections in the wake of the bridge collapse.
One such bridge is the Highway 23 bridge over the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, another the 243 Highway bridge over the St. Croix River near Osceola, Wis.
“We do not expect to find problems with these bridges,” said Bob McFarlin, MnDOT’s Assistant to the Commissioner for Policy and Public Affairs.
Structurally deficient
McFarlin cautioned that engineering terms like “structurally deficient ” — a term applied to 1097 bridges in Minnesota — should not be interpreted to mean unsafe.
Transportation Commissioner Carol Molnau insisted budgetary considerations played no role in addressing transportation safety concerns.
The public should be confident in the state transportation system, she said. “This bridge we just had collapse, my daughter drives over that twice a day,” Molnau said with emotion.
“Do you really believe that any of us would compromise the safety of the motoring public — you’re in the wrong place,” she said.
Molnau also explained that addressing safety concerns can mean shifting dollars around within the MnDOT budget.
She criticized the press for sometimes exploiting emotional situations.
There are about 13,000 bridges in Minnesota.
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