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Saturday, August 25, 2007

Talk To BridgeJoe, He Knows Stuff About Bridges....

 

"This post is for people like me, who need more information, descriptive dialogue about our local bridges right now. Once we feel like we have enough info to understand the dynamics of a bridge, before it falls, we'll be a lot calmer to live with. Once we get the report that states why the thing fell down, we might go through another cycle of angst while gathering schematics on the internet, checking engineering reports and comparing notes with others, anonomously of course. But it will be a shorter manic cycle then the first one was, I promise honey....."

Only when a bridge stood out with its architectural beauty, aesthetic appeal or was unusually long and low to the water or unusually long and arched high over the water, did I really notice what I was driving over. Now I pay attention, even though I don't want to, I can't help but take a sideways glance to the edge of the bridge, any of them now, just to calculate how high over the ground or water they are. Even the ones I drive under, have captured my attention.

I now keep my ears open for bridge talk, something I would've never done before, not in a million years! I found a site from 2005 where a guy named bridgejoe knows everything, I mean everything about bridges. The thread has conversations about our local bridges: 35W, joints, anti-icers, seams, bridge decks, lead responsibility, and so on....

Fast forward to now 2007 8/15 to 8/25 See what BridgeJoe Says I'm sure glad I stumbled acrossed his posts. I like the way he explains facts about the bridges. All who particpated are helpful, except for those who would do harm to the pigions! Someone named Dirt Girl wants to poison the birds! How people think like that, I'll never know.

From 2005 thread...."A typical joint can accommodate 2" of movement. With a temperature range of 120 degrees (-25 to +95 F), a 200-foot long bridge will experience about 2" of expansion. The majority of bridges in Minnesota fall into this range. For longer bridges with multiple spans, several of these joints may be used. For bridges with longer spans, special modular joints are used. These look like a series of parallel metal strips running across the road, and can accommodate expansion much greater than 2 inches." posted bridgejoe Posted: 7/19/2005

Mayor Rybak Minneapolis Update August 24, 2007

Tuesday, Aug. 28
at the McNamara Alumni Center on the (east bank) campus of the University of Minnesota from 4:30 - 7 p.m. The address is 200 Oak St., S.E. Minneapolis. The Alumni Center is accessible by the 2, 3, 6, 16, 50, 144 bus routes. The open house will be held in AI Johnson Room.
www.alumnicenter.umn.edu/events/parking.html

Thursday, Aug. 30 at the Humphrey Institute Atrium (west bank) from 4:30 - 7 p.m. The open house will be held in the Atrium. The address is 301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55455. The Humphrey Institute is accessible the 2, 3, 6, 7, 16, 22, 50, 144 bus routes.
www.umn.edu/twincities/maps/HHHCtr/index.html

Wednesday, Sept. 5 at the IDS Center and the open house will be held in the Crystal Court from 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. The address is 80 South 8th St., Minneapolis. The IDS Center is accessible by the 5, 8, 10, 17, 18, 22, and MOA 180 Express bus routes as well as the Hiawatha Light Rail line.

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-3502667-ids_crystal_court_minneapolis-i

If you cannot make the public open houses but would still like to comment on the bridge, please visit the Mn/DOT public comment web page at

www.dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/rebuild/comment.html.

To find out more information on the I-35W Bridge including the design plans, RFP, and traffic alternatives please visit

www.dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/index.html.
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