I-35W Bridge Collapse Khani Sahebjam February 1, 2008 Annual City Engineers Meeting
I-35W Bridge - Looking North July, 1967
The Collapse Occurs at 6:05 p.m. Wednesday, August 1, 2007 Over 100 vehicles were on the bridge at time of collapse 13 fatalities 105 injuries
The Response The First 24 Hours
Mn/DOT s Immediate Response 6:05 p.m. - Numerous concurrent calls to State Patrol Dispatch (911) and from field employees to RTMC and Maintenance Dispatch 6:10 p.m. - District Emergency Operations Center activated and DEOC staff report to RTMC Immediate traffic control for ramp and freeway closures provided by FIRST units, maintenance units, and contractors in the vicinity Mn/DOT s Regional Transportation Management Center (RTMC)
Statewide Incident Response 6:20 p.m. State Emergency Operations Center and Joint Information Center activated. Unified command center set up on collapse site. Authority in command changed as incident progressed: Mpls. Fire Department in charge of rescue Hennepin County Sheriff in charge of recovery (Mn/DOT assisted with some demolition) Mn/DOT assumed command after recovery was completed
Traffic Response 6:20 p.m. - began converting temporary traffic control measures to more long term traffic control standards. Instituted 24-hour staffed traffic control 11:00 p.m. - Detour maps for a.m. rush posted on Mn/DOT Web site Overnight closed I-35W with temporary barricades and converted Hwy 280 to a freeway.
Public and Media Response 6:10 to 8 p.m. continuous Mn/DOT traffic radio coverage Detour maps and info provided on Web and 511 Traveler Information Media briefings, interviews Coordinated responses with other agencies/governor s office http://www.511mn.org http://www.dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/index.html
The Response Local and National
Governor s Response August 2 Governor Tim Pawlenty declares a state of emergency and activates State Emergency Operations Center
U.S. DOT Response Aug. 2 U.S. DOT Secretary tours site and announces $5 million grant to help pay for early expenses
Executive Branch Response Aug. 3 - First Lady Laura Bush visits the site, victims families Aug. 4 - President Bush pledges to cut red tape that could delay recovery Aug. 21 - President declares emergency under Robert T. Stafford Act authorizing funds for safety and recovery efforts President Bush participates in a briefing with Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and Gov. Tim Pawlenty
Congressional Response Congress authorizes $250 million in Emergency Relief money to repair and restore highway facilities to pre-disaster conditions Later received another $123.5M from 2007 appropriation Total Federal Emergency Relief $373.5M
Mn/DOT s Continuing Response Investigation Inspections Traffic Recovery Bridge Demolition Bridge Replacement Media/Public Responses
The Search for a Cause Cause may not be known for 6-12 months
Investigation and The Search for a Cause National Transportation Safety Board leads investigation (will know result of NTSB investigation 6-12 months) Forensic engineering firm assisting investigation
Inspection Aug. 2 - Governor directs Mn/DOT to inspect all bridges on the trunk highway system in priority order Aug. 6 Mn/DOT completes inspection of five bridges with the same arch deck truss design as I-35W bridge Inspection continues of state bridges, structurally deficient and fracture critical bridges priority Aug. 10 Mn/DOT requests that local agencies and private owners accelerate inspections of their bridges Inspections completed end of December 2007.
Inspection Approximately 13,000>20 ft long bridges in Minnesota 3,600 TH and 9,400 local 193 fracture critical bridges in Minnesota 71 TH and 122 local 34 pin assembly bridges 15 TH and 19 local 1,134 structurally deficient bridges 107 TH and 1,027 local
Traffic Restoration Work to convert Hwy 280 to a freeway including closing atgrade signalized intersections to cross traffic, upgrading ramp termini signal systems and lengthening frontage road Add lane 3 miles each direction on I-94 from Hwy 280 to I-35W by overlaying and restriping shoulders Many temporary projects on other Metro alternate routes
Traffic Distribution After Collapse
Transit Metro Transit assigned 25 extra buses, ridership jumps 25-50% Advised public to buy bus passes, stagger work hours, carpool Began studying additional service enhancements Park-and-Ride use jumps after I-35W bridge collapse
Bridge Demolition and Removal Aug. 6 demolition began to aid recovery, and NTSB investigation Aug. 20 recovery completed, site turned over to Mn/DOT Sept. 6 - Navigation channel opened to commercial traffic
Bridge Demolition and Removal Steel removed from river Corps has swept channel NTSB on site through end of year
Bridge Rebuild-Stakeholder Involvement Six open houses Community group Meetings Presentations/listening sessions Meetings with local, state, federal officials E-mail alerts/ notifications Web site, online comment form Handouts at park-and-ride lots
Responding to What We Heard Build bridge to accommodate future LRT Build a quality, attractive bridge we can be proud of Mitigate construction impacts Maintain key road and bike accesses Require DBE involvement Keep us involved!
Bridge Rebuild Legislative/Congressional Hearings Aug. 15 Hearings with Minnesota House and Senate Transportation Committee Sept. 5 Mn/DOT staff testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure
Media and Public Response Media interest worldwide Media briefings, interviews Mn/DOT directed to be transparent in info provided AG s office required retention of all incident-related data 50+ data practices requests Dedicated I-35W Web site includes all documents
Timeline August 1 Bridge Collapses August 4 Issue Request for Qualifications August 8 Short Listed Teams August 23 Request for Proposals Released September 14 Technical Proposals Received Technical Evaluation Begins September 18 Financial Proposals Received September 19 Project Letting September 20 City of Minneapolis Grants Municipal Consent October 8 Department of Administration Rejects Protest Project Award to Flatiron/Manson Citizens Lawsuit Filed October 31 Judge Rejects Temporary Restraining Order
Evaluation Criteria Quality (50 percent) Experience and authority of key individuals Extent of quality control/quality assurance Safety Measures to evaluate performance in construction Aesthetics/Visual Quality (20 percent) Visual enhancements to the structure Involvement of the public after letting Enhancements (15 percent) Roadway enhancements Structural enhancements Public Outreach/Involvement (15 percent) Impacts to the public Approach to communications
Best Value Selection Process Based on cost plus time divided by technical score Resulted in Flatiron/Manson being awarded the best value contract 91.47 technical score (out of 100 possible) $233.8 million cost 437 days to complete
Technical Evaluation Results Technical Review Committee Ames/Lunda Technical Proposal Score C.S. McCrossan Flatiron/Manson Walsh/AB Tom OKeefe Mn/DOT 70.4 76.7 89.75 77.05 Wayne Murphy AGC 53.0 59.1 88.50 71.30 Tom Styrbicki, Mn/DOT 53.0 71.40 93.30 68.95 Terry Ward Mn/DOT 56.65 70.85 94.55 68.0 Heidi Hamilton City of Minneapolis 55.45 62.60 87.00 66.30 Kevin Western Mn/DOT 47.4 54.80 93.70 55.70 Average Score 55.98 69.51 91.47 67.88 (Fair) (Good) (Excellent) (Good)
St. Anthony Falls I35W Bridge
View from north shore near St. Anthony Falls View from the Cantilever at the Guthrie
Project Enhancements High performance concrete and pre-stressing for superior durability and lower maintenance Multiple levels of redundancy Two bridges, each with box girders Hundreds of high strength steel strands embedded in each box girder Pier under each box girder, providing direct load path to foundations Multiple drilled shaft foundations socketed into bedrock Geometric Enhancements that eliminate all existing sub-standard roadway geometry, improving safety and driving conditions. A Smart Bridge design with integrated state-of-the-art bridge sensor and monitoring system.
Retaining Wall
Open Railing Drivers perspective heading southbound
Safety Lighting Energy efficient state of the art LED lighting will be installed
Lighting Options Wash of light superstructure and all pier faces Wash of light superstructure and pier front faces only
Lighting Options (cont.) Wash of Light - Underside
Project Construction Phases
Conclusions What Went Right? Lessons Learned?
What Went Right Employees willing to work, just showed up, instincts take over Excellent employee response due to experience and training Good coordination with Governor s office Partnerships with FHWA, Minneapolis, Other Agencies Permits, other documents approved quickly In-place incident management infrastructure
Lessons Learned Need designated Liaison with all agencies Improved system for media inquires and data practices requests Employee stress management Confusion regarding what investigation results are public information Streamline centralized media Use caution posting detailed contact information Mn/DOT employees can work out of the box, be flexible, work in strange locations and do what needs to get done! Politics will be part of it
Looking Ahead Litigation is pending Rebuild new bridge
Questions/Discussion? To get the most current information, visit the Mn/DOT 35W Web Site khani.sahebjam@dot.state.mn.us http://www.dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/