I drove over the bridge Thursday. Around 6:30 PM. Northbound. It was wider than I expected, I’d guess that used the unused lanes for wider lanes. This seemed a good idea since it leave more room for error. The guard rails on the end seemed lower than I expected. This might be more a sense of scale since the bridge is so wide.

There was an expansion strip on each end but on each but otherwise the ride was smooth, though a bit “noisy” due to the pavement surface being somewhat “coarse”. North of the bridge to the Johnson Avenue exit I noticed all the steel on the bridges was freshly painted. Some other upgrades and a new road surface so that stretch should not need significant lane closures for maintenance in the near future. Good work!

On Johnson Street I stopped in a gas station that has a sign “now open 24 hours, Welcome Back”. I went up to Fridley and shopped at several stores. At one, someone I talked to had a relative who helped install the first in the world LED bridge lights. I drove south at 9 PM which was after dark. The LED lights give a surprisingly bright roadway, I like them! The river markers on both ends are bright blue light and beautiful.

On the bridge itself, there are no signs on the outside rail of the bridge. This is a very “clean” affect, the opposite of the other local Figg bridge in downtown St. Paul which is cluttered with “art” added on the outer railing. This is the opposite.

Driving South to the Hiawatha turnoff the roadway seemed smooth. It was too dark to see if there was bridge steel and if it was painted but I hope it was.

Driving the bridge both ways for the first time in a year reminded me of visiting a lake cabin you hadn’t been to in over a year. You still know how things are supposed to be but it’s interesting when you first arrive. You have to dust off the cobwebs but it’s still there.

To my main Columbia Heights destination this is now a 12 mile round trip. With a detour North to the 3^rd Av. Bridge and a return trip over the 10^th Avenue bridge (partially to observe construction) it was fifteen miles and a lot slower. If I took the “fast route” (non rush hour) of I-94 to I-694 it was 20 miles.

I’ve talked with people in the management of the project and the workers. Technologically, this was not a difficult bridge project but it was one of the most scrutinized bridge building projects in modern history. Line workers told me that the worst winter cold was “difficult” but they weren’t forced. There were few shift cut backs due to the winter weather.

Mr. Sanderson, who headed the project mused about how more than a dozen people showed up for the Saturday “sidewalk superintendent” talk in a -20F wind chill (I didn’t make that one). To me this interest is good. The more the public knows about bridges the better.

The real “gem” here is the best in the world sensor system on the bridge. It can detect minor changes in load, wind and temperatures. Bridges are designed to “roll with the punches” but this is the first ever opportunity to really measure these real time. This is probably the safest bridge in the world right now but as they say “a watched pot never boils”. Europe has the new CERN supercollider but Minneapolis

has the “super bridge”. In the US alone we are supposed to have 600,000 major bridges, most old so the task is daunting. (sort of like the old house, what do you fix?) Our new bridge will give unprecedented insight into the “behavior” of bridges greatly increasing the science and art of dsesign and maintenance. Unlike the CERN super collider this should give good “bang for the buck” since the maintenance and replacement of these 600,000 bridges is a trade off on priorities. Do it at lower cost and more can be done.

I figured that I had a one in 20,000 chance on being on the bridge when it collapsed. Basically two round trips a week, figure four minutes on the old bridge per week. It gave me a sense of vulnerability, not bad since I “dodged the bullet” but we must remember that other did not. I dealt with two businesses that lost people in the bridge collapse and might have had some business dealings wih one person who died. Please take time to remember them.

Also think of the many construction workers who tell tell their star struck children and grandchildren “That is my bridge, I built it”. It is their bridge, thank them for letting us use it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eNIfXoeNXY

If you have questions, please do not reply directly to this email. Contact