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Feb 11, 2009 5:52 pm US/Central
PCI Seeks To Add State, Design Firm To Bridge Case
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ―
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Progressive Contractors Incorporated says the state should be liable, too, because it owned the bridge and had the duty to inspect, maintain and repair it. (File)
AP
A contractor that's being sued over the Interstate 35W bridge collapse says the state and an engineering firm should be defendants in the case as well.
Progressive Contractors Incorporated says the state should be liable, too, because it owned the bridge and had the duty to inspect, maintain and repair it.
PCI also names Jacobs Engineering Group, the successor to the company that designed the bridge, which federal investigators say collapsed because of a flaw in the original design.
Three people who were injured and the family of a truck driver who was killed filed lawsuits in November against St. Michael-based PCI, which was doing resurfacing work on the bridge when it fell.
PCI filed a third-party complaint Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court to add the state and Jacobs as defendants and expose them to liability.
A spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation said the agency doesn't comment on litigation.
A spokeswoman for Pasadena, Calif.-based Jacobs did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
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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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.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.)
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