Daylife/AP Photo used by permission
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Since the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge two years ago, state transportation officials have awarded more than $55 million in contracts to URS Corp. and Progressive Contractors Inc. — the two companies it now holds largely responsible for the disaster.
Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) records show that it gave the two companies contracts for projects across the state in those two years, including work to predesign other bridges. At least one of the companies played a small part in building the new I-35W bridge.
URS’ most recent contract with MnDOT is for a traffic simulation project in the Twin Cities metro area. The agency authorized the $99,892 contract July 23 — just a few days before the state filed suit against URS, a San Francisco-based company that for four years was MnDOT’s main consultant concerning the bridge. The lawsuit cites URS as negligent and accuses it of violating basic engineering standards.
MnDOT spokesman Kevin Gutknecht said Friday that the agency would not comment on other contracts it has awarded to URS because of its lawsuit against the company regarding the I-35W bridge. “We do not comment on matters under litigation,” he said…
In its lawsuit, the state accused URS of failing to adequately inspect and analyze the 40-year-old steel-truss bridge and of failing to detect that the bridge’s gusset plates were underdesigned and inadequate. It collapsed Aug. 1, 2007, killing 13 people and injuring 145 others.
In May, the state filed a legal claim against Progressive Contractors, saying that the construction company whose workers were on the bridge the day it fell did not tell MnDOT the details of its plan to place heavy equipment and materials on the bridge.
Bureaucrats so incapable of change they’d rather give money away to incompetents than find a new way to do business.
And of course when government fails, you insist on giving it more work.
I remember the video of this thing falling, scary. I get nervous driving my truck over any bridge now.
I always think, Who built this bridge, what makes them so sure this thing is going to hold up? And of course, looking down… If this Sh** breaks, I’m dead.
A few years ago I lived in Tampa and part of an elevated highway under construction collapsed. Guess who the contractor was.
I wonder if the U.S patent office would issue MikeN legal ownership for the non sequitur?
Change! = Throw even MORE money at it!
“Progressive Contractors” were the actual culprits in the collapse. Too much heavy equipment on the bridge at a time, putting more pavement over the existing pavement instead of removing the old pavement.
The gusset plates didn’t have a chance.
Seriously, you should just copy and paste the entire piece, since there are only like two sentences that you omitted.
“Bureaucrats so incapable of change they’d rather give money away to incompetents than find a new way to do business.”
And yet the populous is so willing to hand over their money and future to the government.
You may believe in Obama, but he doesn’t run everything. And he will only be in office for another 7 years. The rest is up the the bureaucrats and your fearless Congress.
The state is claiming that the contractors should have know the bridge was defective before they began their re-work. Talk about shifting the blame!
#9, Sweeney,
They were PAID to know about the bridge.
Were there other firms bidding on the contract other than Bubba’s Bridge and Tackle Shop?
#11, Dallas,
sshhh, you shouldn’t ask a Republican Administration those kind of questions.
(but it is a good question, I hadn’t thought of it.)
Hey didn’t they build the Tacoma Narrows Bridge? (grin)