Committee puts blame on MnDOT for Wakota Bridge

"MN Transportation"

11/17/2007

A preliminary report by the state House panel faults the department for the over-budget, still-to-be completed project.


By Sarah Lemagie,
Star Tribune
November 16, 2007


Original plans for the new Wakota Bridge had traffic flowing over it today. But as any commuter between Newport and South St. Paul can tell you, the Mississippi River crossing is half done, and construction of the eastbound span hasn't started.

"It's still a mess," said state Rep. Joe Atkins, DFL-Inver Grove Heights, who heads a House committee investigating delays, cost overruns and design problems with the bridge since June.

In a preliminary report released Friday, the House Commerce and Labor Committee criticized the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) for its management of the project as well as a design firm hired by the department.

The two-bridge project, which began in 2002, is nearly $20 million over budget.

According to the report, MnDOT chose a bridge design that, three out of the six times it has been used nationwide, has led to cracking and expensive repairs. And the department's failure to account for a wastewater main lying beneath one of the bridge piers led to seven months of delays, the report said.

The committee faults MnDOT for rejecting a rebid from general contractor Lunda Construction Co. to finish the bridge, then terminating its contract with Lunda in December. Since then, the report says, the department has "inexplicably" delayed rebidding work on the eastbound span.

At a committee hearing this fall, Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau, who is also MnDOT commissioner, said she fired the contractor because its rebid was too high. The report also questions whether MnDOT still has the money to finish the project.

In a letter Friday to Molnau, Atkins asked her to respond to the report by Dec. 10, identify any other project errors and describe what the department is doing to fix problems. He also asked how MnDOT plans to pay for the bridge if costs keep escalating.

In a statement issued Friday, Molnau said the department would respond to the report after reviewing it. The eastbound span is set to be advertised for bids in December, with completion expected in the fall of 2010, she said.

Atkins stressed that the investigation is not a "witch hunt," saying the committee began its work well before the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge.

"The goal here was just to find out what went wrong, make sure it's fixed and make sure it doesn't happen again."