Met Council set to yank rail contract from URS

Article by: PAT DOYLE , Star Tribune
Updated: December 18, 2012 - 10:37 PM

Agency is now expected to split Southwest Corridor project between two other firms.

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rickbmnDec. 19, 12 7:29 AM

The Met Council needs to go. This unelected group of people should have NO say over anything or any of us. Why on earth our city and county boards allow the Met Council to continue to exist boggles my mind. We elected our representatives to represent us. We didn't elect them to defer their duties to another group.

omgurdensDec. 19, 12 8:21 AM

Why would we have even considered giving work to the company that missed the impending failure of the 35W bridge? And the next bridge they were involved in failed as well! Whoever promoted hiring them is incompetent, and needs to go.

reader2580Dec. 19, 12 9:38 AM

URS recommended reinforcing the 35W bridge. MNDOT's own engineeers decided that drilling thousands of holes in the bridge to reinforce it could weaken the bridge so they canceled the progject. I'm not saying URS should be hired for any future project, but URS did suggest changes to reinforce the 35W bridge that MNDOT rejected. There is no guarantee that the reinforcement would have stopped the collapse if it had been done.

strider53Dec. 19, 12 9:45 AM

I'm sorry folks......but it was Mn/DOT that let Br. #9340 hit the Mississippi, due to lack of funding and messed up priorities. And the City of Minneapolis ignored properly monitoring the long term harmonic vibrations on the Sabo bridge cables, and performed sub par yearly safety inspections.

dtmonkeyboyDec. 19, 1210:32 AM

sorry I don't buy the "anti-government" argument. URS has failed multiple times not only in MN but accross the coutry. What is the real kicker is now they might sue. Seems to me it is big corporations that are the real threat in America!!

dtmonkeyboyDec. 19, 1210:40 AM

originally senators were not elected, but were appointed...have an unelected body such as the met council is not so out of the ordinary.

wstolarDec. 19, 1212:07 PM

why spend any of the money we don't have on LRT please stop the spending madness

northatlastDec. 20, 1212:59 PM

The met council was set up by a DFL Governor and a DFL controlled legislature. Their original mandate was waste water treatment. If you want to argue that the Met council has a mission creep problem, well then fine. But many of the people calling for it's demise are huge supporters of the party that put it in place. And are also the ones that are being very NIMBY about the SWLRC. You can't have your cake and eat it too.