Minneapolis

Our faithful readers have probably been wondering why we haven't updated the blog in the last few days.....the answer is because Brenda (the primary blog updater) has been on a business trip to Minneapolis.

Brenda attended the annual convention for the American Segmental Bridge Institute, which, even though it was very interesting, did not include a lot of good photo opportunities (unless you want to see a roomful of guys in suits).
On Tuesday afternoon the convention attendees were given some time to tour Minneapolis and sightsee a little. The weather was beautiful, and Brenda found lots of interesting things to look at. There was this neat looking clock tower....

....the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (home of the Twins!)....

....and this really cool park that was created to preserve the ruins of some local flour mills.

Part of the park was this stone arch bridge, which was built in 1883 to allow the Great Northern Railway to cross the Mississippi River. It is now a pedestrian and bike path.

But the main thing that Brenda wanted to see was the I35W bridge. Many of you probably remember that this bridge collapsed without warning in August of 2007, killing 13 people and injuring many more.

At the time of its collapse, this bridge was the 6th-busiest bridge for vehicle traffic volume in the entire state. The Minnesota Department of Transportation wanted it rebuilt fast, so they issued an emergency design-build contract for a replacement within 60 days. The new bridge was designed, built, and opened to traffic within 11 months, which is pretty amazing.

Unlike the original steel truss, the new bridge is a concrete segmental design, and it is a beautiful structure.

Besides the new I35W bridge, one of the highlights of the Convention for Brenda was getting to have dinner and drinks with Chris's mom, who happened to be in town visiting friends.

It was a fun trip, but like always, Brenda is sure glad to be back home.