Blame Pro Sports for the Collapse

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VikingMachine
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Blame Pro Sports for the Collapse

Post by VikingMachine »

Nick Coleman has a really sh#tty article in the Star today where he at least partially blames the building of the Twins Stadium on this collapse...this is bound to hurt the Vikings Stadium drive IMO. The thing that I dislike is that the two issues arent even close to being related, its completely irresponsible journalism.

Heres a link: http://www.startribune.com/10204/story/1339911.html
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vikingman
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Post by vikingman »

This guy sounds like a real dick. Here people are dealing with death and destruction and he is trying to get into the lime light and make himself look good. What an idiot.
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Post by Mr. X »

What a disgusting column.

One would think that the editorial oversight at the Star Tribune would have rejected this type of mudslinging just one day after this horrific tragedy. I knew the mudslinging was coming but I truly thought that given the enormity of the tragedy that there would be at least a few days where the so-called journalists would keep their powder dry just out of common decency. Guess not.

Coleman is essentially saying that the Pawlenty Administration was willing to risk public safety rather than raise taxes. And he's saying this one day after this tragedy when emotions are raw. Does he wait for the experts to determine the likely cause of the bridge collapse? Of course not. Look ... Nick Coleman could not possibly read highly technical bridge inspection reports and know what they mean (even if he did in fact read those reports and I highly doubt he did that).

The Twins stadium has nothing to do with this. The state did not cut funding of any highway maintenance or repair to help fund the Twins stadium. The state is not putting a penny of state money into the Twins stadium. That was a decision by the Hennepin County board to increase their sales taxes by a small amount. Does Hennepin County have jurisdictional responsibility for I-35 running through its county? I don't think so. I do believe that falls to the state and not the county.

This Coleman column is just plain wrong on so many levels that it's hard to fathom how it made it into print (even for the loose standards at the Strib). Will there be any fallout for Nick Coleman? No. Of course not. It's the Strib.
VikingMachine
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Post by VikingMachine »

Mr. X wrote:What a disgusting column.

One would think that the editorial oversight at the Star Tribune would have rejected this type of mudslinging just one day after this horrific tragedy. I knew the mudslinging was coming but I truly thought that given the enormity of the tragedy that there would be at least a few days where the so-called journalists would keep their powder dry just out of common decency. Guess not.

Coleman is essentially saying that the Pawlenty Administration was willing to risk public safety rather than raise taxes. And he's saying this one day after this tragedy when emotions are raw. Does he wait for the experts to determine the likely cause of the bridge collapse? Of course not. Look ... Nick Coleman could not possibly read highly technical bridge inspection reports and know what they mean (even if he did in fact read those reports and I highly doubt he did that).

The Twins stadium has nothing to do with this. The state did not cut funding of any highway maintenance or repair to help fund the Twins stadium. The state is not putting a penny of state money into the Twins stadium. That was a decision by the Hennepin County board to increase their sales taxes by a small amount. Does Hennepin County have jurisdictional responsibility for I-35 running through its county? I don't think so. I do believe that falls to the state and not the county.

This Coleman column is just plain wrong on so many levels that it's hard to fathom how it made it into print (even for the loose standards at the Strib). Will there be any fallout for Nick Coleman? No. Of course not. It's the Strib.
:appl:
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Post by Samkon35 »

yea the author of that article is a moron.
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John
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Post by John »

vikingman wrote:This guy sounds like a real dick.
He doesn't just sound like one... he is one. Trust me, I know him. :)

BTW, his brother is the Mayor of St. Paul.
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Post by Dark Viking »

Mr. X wrote:Does Hennepin County have jurisdictional responsibility for I-35 running through its county? I don't think so. I do believe that falls to the state and not the county.
Federal, actually.

Even further removed.
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Post by Mr. X »

Dark Viking wrote: Federal, actually.
Even further removed.
I'm pretty sure it is the State of MN that is responsible for maintaining the Interstate Highway system within the state boundaries including the funding of any repairs or maintenance.
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Post by John »

Mr. X wrote: I'm pretty sure it is the State of MN that is responsible for maintaining the Interstate Highway system within the state boundaries including the funding of any repairs or maintenance.
As I understand it the funding for repairs, etc. comes from the feds too. The feds do get a tax on all our gas, so we pay them and then beg for money back. :)

I think you're right that MNDOT is in charge of inspections, and all repair and construction projects. And since we fund MNDOT (look at the state's transportation budget) we do contribute quite a bit.
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Post by BGM »

Mr. X wrote:
I'm pretty sure it is the State of MN that is responsible for maintaining the Interstate Highway system within the state boundaries including the funding of any repairs or maintenance.
Quite true. Federal transportation funds are not specifically earmarked for upkeep of the Interstates, each state is responsible for maintaining them. Whether they specifically use the funds given by the Feds is up to each state, IIRC.

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Post by Mr. X »

MNDot had designated this bridge as "structurally deficient" in 1990, but in the terminology of bridge inspections "structurally deficient" does not mean that it is unsafe. This bridge was not scheduled for replacement any time soon nor was it scheduled for any major repairs. It was scheduled for more frequent inspections. Apparently there are other bridges in MN that also have this same designation.
Source: MPR coverage of MnDot's Thursday afternoon presser.

[[Someone should send this info to Nick Coleman.]]

Obviously the inspections either missed something or were inadequate in other ways. I wouldn't want to be the person or persons who signed off on those inspection reports. Inspecting engineers are expected to be infallible when they do their bridge inspections but unfortunately they are not. The state is doing the responsible thing and having an independent analysis of all of its bridges conducted and will be determining what (if anything) went wrong with MnDot inspection of this bridge.

PS. The first responders to this tragedy (police, fire and medical) by all accounts did an outstanding job. Hat tip to the Twin Cities and the State of MN for having their act together on responding to this catastrophic event.
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Post by Demi »

Obviously the inspections either missed something or were inadequate in other ways
I think it was really very simple...s*it happens. Plain and simple. There was nothing anyone could do, short of completely rebuilding every pre-1970 bridge completely, and even then do these people believe those bridges have zero chance of ever failing period? It was a trajedy, but there was nobody to blame, it was a freak accident...they happen...
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Post by PurpleMustReign »

Demi wrote: I think it was really very simple...s*it happens. Plain and simple. There was nothing anyone could do, short of completely rebuilding every pre-1970 bridge completely, and even then do these people believe those bridges have zero chance of ever failing period? It was a trajedy, but there was nobody to blame, it was a freak accident...they happen...

Man... I've been agreeing with Demi a lot lately...

I agree this was just something that happened. When you figure how many cars, etc were on that bridge everyday, and the combnied weight of all that, the fact that those bridges last more than 5 years astounds me.
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Post by Eli »

If the Vikings eventually move due to a lack of public funding for a new stadium, we can all look back on the collapse of the 35W bridge as perhaps the single biggest deciding factor. I don't think people will be easily convinced that this bridge collapse can be blamed on the funding of past stadiums, but it will be much easier for stadium detractors to argue against the funding of future projects.
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Post by Eli »

Demi wrote: I think it was really very simple...s*it happens. Plain and simple. There was nothing anyone could do, short of completely rebuilding every pre-1970 bridge completely, and even then do these people believe those bridges have zero chance of ever failing period? It was a trajedy, but there was nobody to blame, it was a freak accident...they happen...
What a 100% complete and total crock of bull. You wouldn't have that attitude if you had lost a family member on that bridge. You, like those who were injured, and those who've lost family members, would be looking for someone to blame. And there will be someone, because someone royally f*****d up.

Bridges should NOT just collapse in the middle of the day. The engineering science of such structures has been studied for centuries and is well-known and codified. In this, the richest nation in the world, there's no excuse for this to happen. None. Certainly not "s**t happens".
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