Source: Design flaw caused 35W bridge collapse

01/15/2008

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal investigators have identified a design flaw as the cause of last year's Interstate 35W Minneapolis bridge collapse that killed 13 people, a congressional official said Tuesday.


Thirteen people died when the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River on August 1.

The official, who was briefed by the National Transportation Safety Board, said that investigators found a design flaw in the bridge's gusset plates, which are the steel plates that tie steel beams together.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to pre-empt an update being provided later Tuesday by the NTSB chairman, Mark V. Rosenker.

The findings are consistent with what the NTSB said about a week after the August 1 collapse, in which the bridge plunged into the Mississippi River.

At the time, the NTSB said it had found issues with the collapsed bridge's gusset plates, but expected a full investigation to take more than a year.

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters in August advised states to consider the additional stress placed on bridges during construction projects. An 18-person crew was working on the bridge when it collapsed.

Nearly three months later, Peters told a gathering in Washington of a "working theory" of a poorly designed gusset plate and a heavy load of construction materials.

Meanwhile, state lawmakers announced plans last month to spend up to $500,000 to hire legal counsel to aid in a legislative inquiry into the Minneapolis collapse.

The bridge was deemed "structurally deficient" by the federal government as far back as 1990.

Late last year, President Bush signed a massive spending bill which included $195 million to help replace the bridge. That came on top of the $178.5 million the federal government has already given Minnesota for the project.