Inspectors Highlighted Bridge Faults

Debris removal delayed as Navy, FBI divers comb wreckage
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 8, 2007 6:17 PM CDT
Inspectors Highlighted Bridge Faults
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, President Bush, Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak and Gary Babineau, from left, tour the site of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007. Babineau, who was in his truck on the bridge when it collapsed, helped rescue kids from a school bus on...   (Associated Press)

The I-35W bridge collapse followed 10 years' worth of warnings from bridge inspectors, who eventually recommended that the structure be replaced, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Experts disagree on the urgency with which the warnings were issued and should have been addressed, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty said yesterday that no experts indicated the bridge should be closed.

Meanwhile, officials said today removal of the wreckage, originally scheduled to begin by late this week, must wait for Navy and FBI divers to complete their search of the Mississippi, the AP reports. Eighty-eight vehicles remain on the site, some underwater, where a police spokesman said they'll remain unless they're interfering with the divers' work. (More bridge collapse stories.)

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