A Bridge to Somewhere

[LaStrega]

I remember the day the I-35W bridge collapsed. I work at the Star Tribune, which is less than a mile away from the bridge.

It was a normal Wednesday, I was covering for a co-worker who'd phoned in sick.

All of the sudden, pandemonium. Sirens, helicopters, emergency vehicles flying by. We were all looking out the windows wondering holy shit, another terrorist attack?! I cannot relate to you how we were feeling.

As news trickled in, journalists were deployed to the scene ... err ... as close to the scene as they could get. I'm not always (or even often) proud of the STrib nor it's content. But we did an amazing job of covering that story. At first. Then I think we went overboard ... kinda like MSM after 9/11. Too much of a bad thing. But I digress ...

It's official: I-35W bridge to open Thursday (YAY!)

The new Interstate 35W bridge will open to motorists at 5 a.m. Thursday, just over a year after the old bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River killing 13 people and cutting off a key Minneapolis artery.

Local, state and federal leaders gathered this morning on the replacement bridge to announce the completion of construction. They also explained plans for a permanent memorial to the victims of the August 1, 2007, collapse that injured 145 people.

The new concrete span includes high-tech sensors and back-up features the steel truss bridge it replaces lacked. The $234 million bridge was fast-tracked to restore a traffic route that accounted for 140,000 trips a day.

The builders are in line for a bonus of up to $27 million for completing the project more than three months early.

more:
http://www.startribune.com/28393884.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUX