Bridge Collapse

ST. PAUL (AP) ― Minnesota Transportation Commissioner Carol Molnau says the Minneapolis freeway bridge collapse shouldn't force her to quit her job.

"There's been no wrong found," Molnau said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press.

Molnau, who is also the lieutenant governor, said she is waiting for federal investigators to determine why the bridge failed Aug. 1, killing 13 people and injuring about 100. She defended the Minnesota Department of Transportation and its record of maintaining and managing the state's infrastructure since 2003, when she was named commissioner.

"I want to know what happened. And until I know that -- because I do not feel that we were negligent -- and I really think that I would like to understand that," Molnau said from her office near the Capitol. "It's always easy -- everyone wants to have the person to blame."

Democrats ranging from House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher to Sen. Steve Murphy, who oversees transportation spending, have called on Molnau to resign or be fired. If neither happen, the DFL-led Senate may remove her from her position atop the transportation agency next February.

Molnau said she hadn't decided whether she would step down before it comes to such a vote.

In the meantime, a panel of senior lawmakers on Monday gave only partial approval to the spending authority Molnau requested to start replacing the 35W bridge without delaying other work. She and her subordinates faced sober questions about the agency's budget and construction schedules in a series of hearings that are set to continue monthly through January.

Relations between DFL legislators and Molnau have chilled to a new low.

"You've got a transportation commissioner who's trying to tell everybody that everything's OK," said Murphy, who faulted Molnau and other DOT managers for failing to act after a consultant's reports outlined flaws in the Interstate 35W bridge.

Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, said it's "too much" for one person to serve as Pawlenty's deputy and head of a major state agency.

For her part, Molnau said she has become a political target in the struggle over transportation funding between legislative Democrats and Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty. She said Pawlenty is a friend and supports her, and that they are in frequent contact -- "24-7, that can happen anytime."

She said her agency is preparing a transportation spending package for the next legislative session focused on safety and maintenance, with some borrowing to pay for projects. Molnau gave tepid support to a temporary gas tax increase offset by an income tax cut for low earners, but wouldn't say whether the state should raise its vehicle license tab fees. She said the agency is studying a mileage-based tax.

Molnau said lawmakers don't have a perfect record on transportation, either.

"If it's a sense of not getting your work done and accomplishing, I'd say the Legislature maybe also should look at themselves," she said. "They've had a difficult time coming to agreement and getting bills passed. They've had to have special sessions to get their regular work done."

Because of a pending internal investigation, Molnau wouldn't directly answer a question about Sonia Morphew Pitt, a DOT emergency manager who failed to cut short an East Coast business trip when the bridge fell. But she did say the result of the investigation would be public.

"There's no way for people to really know where they're going to be when they're going to be needed, but I think a response is the most important thing, or a contact," said Molnau, who returned immediately from a business trip to China when the bridge collapsed.

Molnau said she relies on engineering and financial experts in her department because her role is to manage the agency, not to keep track of every detail. She conceded that next year's legislative session could be difficult and wouldn't predict whether she would be running the transportation department in a year.

"I truly believe that MnDOT and my position here are benefiting the citizens of the state. I think there's not a good reason for people to ask for the resignation," Molnau said.

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The original I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River opened in November 1967 and was 1,907 feet in length. The replacement bridge opened in September 2008 and measures 1,216 feet in length.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)