zekefax wrote: "I've never driven a snowplow and have no idea of what the driver is dealing with but when I watch them clearing roads, very often the snow seems to move up the blade and then off to the curbside making it difficult to see what might be happening at the end of the blade. - - - If you were driving a snow plow at 25-30 mph, and your visual focus was out at the end of the blade, you'd be hitting a LOT more than just a few lamp posts.

How is it possible that a bridge was designed and built for a cold weather city that is unable to handle a snowplow without causing damage to the bridge? I've never driven a snowplow and have no idea of what the driver is dealing with but when I watch them clearing roads, very often the snow seems to move up the blade and then off to the curbside making it difficult to see what might be happening at the end of the blade. Snowplows are probably not designed to carry its driver in luxury car quiet so my guess is when it is doing what it is designed to do it is loud. My guess is the driver didn't know he hit them until going over the bridge a second time or maybe the damage was pointed out to him. I don't see the plow driver as the issue, the bridge design was bad and its approval as it was, compounded the problem! Seems to me that the state needs bridge engineering schooling and a supersize portion of common sense too!

How about putting in a toll on the bridge to pay for it. Seems like everyone in the Metro thinks that those who use bridges should pay tolls.

That bridge should be a toll bridge for sure.

There's something wrong with this writer's math skills. it appears that 99.8% of this bridge was paid for by taxpayers, after accounting for 190k from Xcel. it doesn't matter which government entity chips in money, all of their money comes from taxpayers just the same.

All these designs were put out by private companies yet most are willing to blame the government officials. This government engineer was honorable enough to accept the blame, but let's not forget that it was recommended by the private designer and engineers. Why are we so quick to aim arrows are our government employees, but so easily ignore the private sector firms who get the money for the design and construction.

This is the kind of stupidity one finds out there -- when almost everything is drawn up on a 2.5D computer screen rather than using actual 3D space models and without taking into account interactions with real-world society versus little computer stick-figures! Take a look at Minneapolis Central Library for a 'pioneer' example of the same kinds of architectural problems. And the flawed nature of modern architecture is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of society as a whole.

They should put the posts in the middle of the sidewalk. Out of plows reach. Oops, people might walk into them. Lawsuit time!

I find it amusing that they had all these tricks for easy snow removal, yet one system couldn't be installed right away because it wasn't going to be supported but the new wasn't ready yet and the spray they were going to use wasn't working correctly. Then maybe the bridge should've not been opened when it was. This is MN. Winter usually comes by November, if not in October and it lasts till March/April. If you planned for it not needing to be plowed, then you should've had that all in place before potential for plowing was needed. And they have been putting up street lights for a very long time. Again, MN we know when winter comes and what plows need for clearance, why wasn't this planned for? Especially on a bridge that could've been built for 1/3 the cost. I don't care about "pretty" in infrastructure, I care about a good design that gets you from point A to point B. If someone wants pretty, someone can donate their hard earned dollars to pay for it. The rest of us shouldn't have to foot that bill.

"The taxpayers covered $66.5 million of the bridge. The county financed two-thirds of the project with bonding. The rest came from $37.5 million in state bridge bonds, $2.7 million from Minneapolis, a $475,000 federal transportation grant and $190,000 from Xcel Energy..." - What a completely stupid statement. The taxpayers paid for all of it. Heck, including Xcels because I know I don't have a choice in my electric company, what they profit on comes from my lack of choice. And the state and county portions where does the STrib think state and county money comes from? Do they have money trees hidden away and use that for projects? It certainly isn't from interest in investments from excess...