The 35W Bridge: Building a Mystery*

As the snow falls on another Minnesota winter, construction continues on the new 35W Bridge in Minneapolis, replacing the one that fell down on August 1, killing 13 people and injuring many more. It'll be ready by this time next year, so we're told. That's remarkably speedy for this kind of a project.

What we still don't know is . . . Well, there are a lot of things we don't know, for one reason or another:

• Why the construction outfit chosen to rebuild the bridge is from Colorado. Is it because they came cheap, or because someone thought they could do a better job?
• Why there are two separate investigations looking into the collapse: One by a law firm hand picked by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty working with the National Transportation Safety Board, the other an outside firm chosen by the state Legislature. Expect sanitized results by the time the Republican convention comes to St. Paul next September.
• Why the Governor and Legislature chose to use its special session to fund victims of the floods that hit southeastern Minnesota (some of whom are still waiting for their money) instead of approving stipends for bridge collapse victims.
• Why Lieutenant Governor Carol Molnau is allowed to continue moonlighting as state Transportation Secretary.
• Why Sophia Morphew Pitt, director of emergency management for MnDOT, stayed on the East Coast for days after the bridge collapse.
• Why Rich Stanek, Hennepin County sheriff, thought it was a good idea to appear in a $30,000 training video about the bridge collapse intended for so-called "first responders" that seemed to be all about himself.
• Why WCCO-TV news anchor Don Shelby agreed to narrate the video in the first place, claiming he wasn't paid for it. It makes Mr. Objective Journalist look like a major suck-up.
• Why Governor Pawlenty continues to oppose transportation bills aimed at improving not only the new bridge, but other roads and bridges in dire need of repair. Is he that beholden to the Minnesota I-Don't-Wanna-Pay-My-Taxes League, which helped get him elected in the first place?
• Why the federal government is stalling on funding. Oh wait. That's no mystery. President Bush wanted (and got) more money from a spineless Congress to continue paying for his wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and on the American people.
• Why, with all the missed warning signs and government officials doing a heckuva job, is the 35w bridge collapse a depressing reminder of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath.
• Why we continue to tolerate this.

*Apologies to Sarah McLachlan.