Jun 3, 2008 11:11 pm US/Central
MnDOT Closes Hwy. 43 Bridge Over River In Winona
WINONA, Minn. (AP) ―
The Minnesota Department of Transportation abruptly closed the Highway 43 bridge over the Mississippi River at Winona indefinitely Tuesday after inspectors discovered rust and corrosion found in gusset plates at several locations earlier in the day.
"This is clearly a precautionary measure," Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel said at a hastily called news conference at city hall Tuesday night. "We're erring on the side of public safety."
The bridge could remain closed for several weeks, said Kristine Hernandez, a MnDOT spokeswoman.
The Highway 43 bridge, which was built in 1941, is the only Mississippi River crossing at Winona, and its closure is expected to cause significant disruptions.
"There's a significant number of people from Wisconsin who work here ... and we get a lot of people who come here to shop," Mayor Jerry Miller said. "This will put a bit of a wrinkle into things."
MnDOT began an inspection of the gusset plates on the steel truss bridge Monday as part of its statewide look at all bridges with gusset plates. Gussets hold together a bridge's beams and a design flaw with them is suspected in the deadly collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis last year.
In addition to rust and corrosion, MnDOT officials said there appears to be some buckling of a gusset plate in one location on the deck truss portion of the Winona bridge. Inspections have not yet been completed on the main span. Inspections of the gussets will continue through Friday.
Officials will then determine how much traffic weight might be allowable. That analysis is expected to take several weeks and the bridge will remain closed during that time.
Winona's nearest alternatives are the Highway 25 bridge about 35 miles to the north at Wabasha; and the Interstate 90 bridge about 25 miles to the south between La Crescent, Minn., and La Crosse, Wis.
Both of those bridges are about a half-hour's drive away from Winona.
At a time when gas prices are soaring, the extra miles will be a significant costs to commuters and businesses, the mayor said.
Paul Anderson's commute from Galesville, Wis., to Winona usually takes 25 minutes. Now he will have to leave home before 5 a.m. to make it to work by 6. But his greatest concern is financial.
"With the gas prices, it's gonna be tough," he said.
Still, he said, the inconvenience is better than the alternative.
"It's better than being on it and falling into the river," Anderson said.
The Winona bridge is 2,289 feet long and carries two lanes of traffic and around 11,600 vehicles per day. The roadway becomes Wisconsin Highway 54 on east side of the river.
MnDOT's designated detour is the southern route: Highway 43 to Minnesota Highways 14/61 to Interstate 90 over the Mississippi River Bridge near Dresbach, Minn., to Wisconsin Highway 53, back to Wisconsin Highway 54. That detour totals 65 miles.
MnDOT twice inspected the Highway 43 bridge in 2007 and found no red flags -- though State Bridge Engineer Dan Dorgan said those inspections didn't closely examine the gusset plates.
Engineers have said the gussets on the 35W bridge were too thin to support its weight. The problem with the Winona bridge is different, Dorgan said, because it's due to wear and corrosion on the plates, not a design flaw.
Bent gusset plates discovered during an inspection led MnDOT to permanently close down the Highway 23 bridge over the Mississippi in St. Cloud in March.
MnDOT and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation plan to begin work as soon as Monday on fortifying some gusset plates on the Interstate 535 John A. Blatnik Memorial Bridge between Duluth, Minn., and Superior, Wis., over the St. Louis River. Officials reduced traffic from four lanes to two last month because those gussets don't meet load requirements. That work will take about a month.
Sen. Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, said MnDOT did the right thing by closing Winona bridge.
"MnDOT has been taking an extra close look at these gusset plates on a lot of different kind of bridges across the state," Murphy said. "It doesn't surprise me they're finding problems. But if they have to close a few bridges to keep people safe, that's better than a bridge collapse."
Other residents and officials in communities on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi reacted with dismay when they leaned they were losing their main route to Winona.
Debbie Scholl, city council president in Fountain City, Wis., said her community will have to find another ambulance service because Winona had handled its calls until now. The closest alternative ambulance provider, she said, is Cochrane Scenic Valley, about 10 miles away.
Scholl also works in Winona, she said, and expects her commute will go from 6 miles to 72 miles each way. She estimated about one-third of Fountain City's residents make the daily trip to Winona.
"Just about everyone we know works in Winona," she said. "With gas prices, I'm hoping employers will work with us a little."
The problem might be reversed for Arcadia, Wis., said city council member Vilas Hanson. He thinks more people come from Winona to his community, home of Ashley Furniture and Gold 'n Plump chicken, to work.
Arcadia is normally about a 30-mile drive from Winona, but either detour will tack an additional 70 to 75 miles onto the trip.
"We just take it for granted that that bridge is there," Hanson said.
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