Year After Tragedy, New Minneapolis Bridge Opens

MICHELE NORRIS, host:

A new bridge opened today in Minneapolis. It replaces the bridge that collapsed over a year ago, sending cars, trucks, and buses tumbling into the Mississippi River. Thirteen people were killed. To some, the new I-35W bridge is a marvel. But as Michael Caputo of Minnesota Public Radio reports, that excitement is mingled with very painful memories.

MICHAEL CAPUTO: At five o'clock this morning, hundreds of commuters waited behind a line of police cars, emergency vehicles, and state department of transportation trucks to be the first to cross the bridge. The procession began after project leaders gave the order to cross the new span.

Unidentified Man: Northbound, you can begin to roll. ..TEXT: CAPUTO: Doug Dockin(ph) of Richfield came on his BMW motorcycle for the opening.

Mr. DOUG DOCKIN: This is a moment in history, this new bridge, after all the news media coverage of it over the year. So I thought, why not be a part of this end of it, the happy end of it?

CAPUTO: The cars inched along at 15 miles an hour over the white-colored span. The open railings gave an easy view of the Mississippi River below and the Minneapolis skyline beyond. The mood became celebratory as the vehicles crossed the more than 1,900-foot-long bridge. Motorist Bill Starr(ph) was there to be a part of it.

Mr. BILL STARR: The trucks from both sides met, and everybody was honking their horns, and it was like a party atmosphere. It was exciting.

CAPUTO: The $234 million project came in months ahead of schedule. Contractor Flatiron Construction can earn up to $27 million in bonuses for early completion. While the new bridge promises relief for Twin City motorists, not everyone is rushing to use it. Some, like Ryan Herder(ph), will avoid the bridge because of new commuting habits. The Minnesota advertising executive says he now likes driving city streets.

Mr. RYAN HERDER (Advertising Executive, Minnesota): I get to see communities, and I'm driving by parks I'd never seen before. I think that there's going to be even less traffic on some of those roads that I'm used to taking, and so I'll cheerfully take those when possible. ..TEXT: CAPUTO: Then there were those like Margie Pemble(ph) of Minneapolis. Pemble watched the old bridge collapse from a window on the 14th floor of her high-rise condo. As a pediatric nurse, she was one of the first responders. Earlier this week at the condo, as construction crews put the finishing touches on the new bridge, she questioned the speed of the project.

Ms. MARGIE PEMBLE (Pediatric Nurse, Minneapolis): We wanted this bridge to go up so fast. It produces a little anxiety knowing that they were doing this in the middle of winter.

CAPUTO: State transportation officials are confident of the bridge construction. Project spokesman, Kevin Gutnik(ph), calls it a high-quality product.

Mr. KEVIN GUTNIK (Spokesman, I-35W Bridge Construction Project): We worked very hard to make sure that it's built to specifications. It is a much better bridge than the bridge that was here before.

CAPUTO: But Pemble and others are still dealing with memories of that day. She recalls watching as the old bridge buckled and heaved right before the collapse, tossing the construction workers at the time in the air.

Ms. PEMBLE: Now, watching the construction workers on the bridge at this point, it makes me nervous watching them. I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to cross it. I mean, I know I will, but I don't know when.

CAPUTO: Plenty of others did ride on the new span today, creating traffic tie-ups soon after it opened. And while it's now in use, work continues on the bridge. Crews will finish observation decks on either side of the Mississippi and connect 35W from the bridge to a Twin Cities parkway. For NPR News, I'm Michael Caputo in St. Paul. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.