2006 inspection report for bridge 9340

[gulfcoastliberal]

Wow, it sounds like the bridge was held up with the equivalent of duct tape and bubble gum. This thing was in serious disrepair: cracked welds, spalling concrete, "severely corroded steel", trusses cracked and repaired by welds covered in salt film, and the road deck was 6% "unsound" the last time they checked - in 1999! Read the state report. Link opens a PDF.

http://www.dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/pdfs/bridge_inspection_report_06-15-06.pdf

[april]

1. here is the link to see all of the bridges that are in need of repair

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20093413/

[Skip Intro]

8. thanks for that!

[malaise]

2. Wow

Someone should be charged for murder.

[ben_meyers]

3. Okay, who do you have in mind?

I've been saying this here for days. The State of Mn. was responsible for that bridge! The Feds warned in 1990 that there were "deficiencies" in the structure. MDOT thought they could patch the damn thing and now we have this! MDOT is a bunch of shovel leaning, state job protected lazy bastards and they should be held responsible. The State of Mn has a 2 billion dollar budget surplus! How does that make you feel Minnesotans?

Have I sounded pissed? Well I am. I lived in Minnesota for 54 years and saw how that state is run by the DFL and their cronies, no matter who is in office. My family and I drove that bridge almost daily for years and I still have family and friends up there that still had to.

This whole disaster was avoidable and it does tick me off.

[dflprincess]

4. It is not MnDot's fault

It's nearly 30 years of "no new taxes" and the idiots who have no sense that we're in this together. The fact that the political appointees running MnDot gave priority to politically popular projects is not the fault of the career staff at the department who are routinely overruled.

By the way, what do expect MnDot to do with the budget surplus? The state has to give the department the money they need, the MnDot employees can't break into a bank and steal it.

[ben_meyers]

5. 30 years of no new taxes?

How does that translate to a 2 billion budget surplus? Do you own a home? How are those property taxes treating ya? Do you own a business? How about them income taxes? When is the last time a business moved into the state? Medtronic stayed and expanded. How? The cities of Fridley and Moundsview gave them the land and built the infrastructure plus the Tax Increment Financing. They will pay No property taxes for 25 years. How did Best Buy build the new corporate headquarters at 494 and Lyndale? Same damn thing. Who is paying property tax? You.

Ask the companies that moved to Brookings and Souix Falls why they bailed. Hell, we have more Honeywell and Medtronic people in Arizona than are left in Minnesota.

Ya I bailed too. Sold My business and Real Estate and bugged out. It ain't Wendell Anderson and his stupid fish on the cover of Time magazine anymore.

[dflprincess]

7. The surplus is projected over the next 3 years

it's counting money that the state hasn't collected yet and may not collect - it's also based on a 0% inflation rate.

I don't know when you left Minnesota but you apparently haven't been paying attention. Like Bush, Pawlenty and the Republicans has cut income taxes for the wealthiest Minnesotans and has balanced the state budget by throwing people off medical assistance programs and raising premium for MnCare. He has cut state aid to cities, counties and school districts which has resulted in horrible raises in property taxes just so the current standard of services (including police and fire) but it lets Pawlenty and the Republicans in the legislature off the hook because they're not the ones who raised the taxes. It also leads to greater disparaties in the quality of services and education from one part of the state to another.

In the last session the DFL wanted to raise the income tax 1% on income over $400,000 for a married couple (I can't remember the limit for a single) - all of which would have gone for property tax relief. It was vetoed because of the "no new tax" pledge. Pawlenty has also vetoed several transportation bills, including one last session that would have raised the gas tax a whole $.05 per gallon. The gas tax has not been raised since 1988.

We used to care about all Minnesotans, not just the "haves" - but that was back when Time Magazine was touting the "good life" in Minnesota.

[malaise]

6. You have every right to be angry

Many of us knew it would not be long before a bridge collapsed. There will be more - Both states and the Feds will pretend to be inspecting bridges until the nine-day wonder wears off.

Until people understand that the state of infrastructure, health care, education and civil liberties are way more important than Anna Nicole and Paris Hilton, Very little will change. The robber barons have seized every institution of government. Sadly for the people of Minnesota, it takes disasters like these to wake up the sheeple. The real problem is that they need to stay awake for way longer than nine days.

The Rethugs have destroyed government.