Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Ohio interstate bridge had gusset plate issues 12 years ago

By The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — The near collapse of an interstate bridge in Ohio 12 years ago was linked to undersized and corroded gusset plates.

Now victims of the Interstate 35W collapse in Minneapolis are asking why Minnesota transportation officials didn’t learn lessons from the Ohio case.

At the time of Ohio’s incident, the gusset plate problem was considered a unique cause for failure. The Interstate 90 bridge over Ohio’s Grand River buckled, making painters under the deck scramble to saftey.

The bridge was shut down for five months for repairs.

It isn’t clear how much Minnesota transportation officials knew about the Ohio incident.

But on Tuesday, the issue will come up as lawyers investigating Minnesota’s bridge collapse release a report for the state Legislature.

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