Lessons for Baltimore: How Minneapolis recovered from its I-35W bridge collapse 17 years ago

[Ocelot II]

6. Very different bridges, of course; but I think the point of the article

was that when it becomes necessary it's possible to respond much more quickly than expected. I remember well when the I35 bridge collapsed; in those days I crossed that bridge at least once a week. But of course there were several other ways to get where I was going, and like everybody else I quickly rerouted. I also recall some talk that the bridge would be rebuilt especially quickly because the GOP convention was to be held in St. Paul the following September, and our odious tool of a then-governor, Tim Pawlenty, wouldn't want a mess or an inconvenience to dampen his hopes for the running mate spot on the ticket (he was considered but passed over for Sarah Palin). But there were really serious reasons for getting that bridge rebuilt since it was part of the interstate highway system, and the alternate routes were slower and less convenient. Tthe Key bridge is of course a much bigger deal, not so much because it was a land transportation route but because the wreckage is blocking a major port (the I35 bridge was well upstream of all significant Mississippi shipping so there's no comparison there). Obviously it's going to take a long time to remove that mess before they can even start building a new bridge.