New I-35 Bridge

[rp2813]

I read in today's paper that the new bridge has been completed ahead of schedule. Also read that there are complaints that it's too plain and non-descript. Sometimes that can be a good thing if there are other scenic points of interest nearby.

Robert, any chance you can snap a picture for us?

Thanks,

Ralph

 

[tuthill]

The bridge was comepleted ahead of schedule because they had people working on it 24 hours a day. It carries a TON of traffic, so the sooner they finished the better.

 

[rp2813]

Thanks Jed. I don't think it looks nearly as plain as some of its detractors have described it.

 

[frigilux]

I don't care if the new bridge has all the panache of a tan Camry; I just want the damn thing to stay up!

It's a bit unsettling knowing how many times I drove over that bridge last summer---the last time only three days before the collapse--not realizing it was on the verge of going down. And I don't even live in the metro area.

My nephews have an office for their construction business about two blocks from the bridge; They drove over it numerous times every day, including the day of the collapse. Shudder!

 

[polkanut]

I too am glad that it's finally done. We drive I494 to get to our relatives home, and alot of the normal I35 traffic has been using it, causing some nasty traffic delays, not to mention all the other road work happening in the Twin Cities metro area.

 

[sudsmaster]

I can appreciate the "function over form" rationale.

Here in the SF Bay Area, we're still waiting for the eastern section of the Bay Bridge to be replaced with a earthquake resistant structure. The current one failed in the 1989 quake. The design of the replacement has been a bone of contention, with the Oakland side having felt slighted by the plain "skyway" approach first proposed by the state. So they shelved that plan, which was already designed, and had a competition and a selection of a new design. The new design will be distinctive, that's sure, with a gigantic self-stayed single tower suspension. Only one problem: it's never been tried on something of this scale. The other problem: due to all the delays the cost skyrocketed, and the Governor Arnold decided to shut down the giant tower design and go back to the rejected skyway design. This of course raised a ruckus locally, and the governor backed down when agencies "found" the funds to go on with the bling bridge.

Somewhere along the way it was revealed that the contractor doing the foundation work for the new section was using substandard concrete and the welds were not properly inspected. More delays and cost as the welds had to be reinspected and the concrete problem pondered.

So it's been nearly 20 years since the old Bay Bridge collapsed, and we still don't have a modern replacement. In retrospec we should have just accepted the skyway and been done with it at least a decade ago.

So I don't blame Minneapolis for going with quick and functional. The only difference is that they patched up and reinforced the old Bay Bridge so it's been used since the '89 quake, but it is not expected to survive the next Big One.

 

[neptunebob]

We are going to get a bridge just like it here on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. They are building it right now.

http://www.paturnpike.com/ConstructionProjects/arb/renderings2.html

 

[Unimatic1140]

Here is a picture of the new bridge, I circled on the picture my office where I work. Traffic has been terrible now southbound on 35W since the new bridge has been opened, but new lanes are being added which will open in a few months and should help matters.

 

[rp2813]

Thanks for posting the picture Robert. I think the new bridge is a much better complement to its elegant older companion. I might add that completing an entirely new bridge a year after the old one went down is no small feat considering all the public works red tape that needed to be hacked out of the way first. Looks like a job well done all the way around.

Ralph

 

[panthera]

Infrastructure

is always a problem. I think you folks did an excellent job of getting things up and running in a very short span of time.
Personally, I hate ugly, 'post-modern' architecture. But in an era when every public expenditure is seen as evil, it's wonderful to see something actually get done for once.