The Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, which collapsed last summer, is scheduled to reopen Thursday, and officials say Wisconsin has taken appropriate measures to protect against a similar tragedy.
The collapse of the bridge in August 2007 killed 13 people and initiated a special set of inspections on 16 similar bridges in Wisconsin.
Beth Cannestra, spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, said the design error responsible for the I-35W bridge collapse was isolated to that bridge.
According to Cannestra, Wisconsin has taken a proactive approach with the special inspections following the collapse.
It is important not to overreact, or under-react,"" Cannestra said, referring to the collapse.
She said while special inspections were made in light of the incident in Minnesota, regular inspections are made every two years in Wisconsin.
Gregory Haig, WisDOT Northwest region structures engineer, said WisDOT has not made many changes to its processes because inspection and maintenance were frequent and strict prior to the collapse on I-35W.
According to Bruce Karow, WisDOT chief structure maintenance engineer, Wisconsin goes ""above and beyond"" guidance from the National Transportation Safety Board for inspection and maintenance of its structures.
After the collapse, WisDOT put monitoring devices on the state's 16 bridges similar to the one in Minneapolis that compare stresses due to actual truckloads and vehicles.
According to Karow, all the designs take weight stress into account.
Karow said even though the bridge will be reopening only a little over a year since the collapse, the rebuilding process in Minnesota has taken adequate time for completion of a safe structure.
Cannestra said the construction process for the I-35W Bridge, in which engineers designed as construction went on, is more costly compared to the process in Wisconsin in which structures are planned completely before construction.
However, according to Cannestra, the time efficiency of Minnesota's design model was appropriate for the bridge in Minneapolis considering the amount of traffic the bridge facilitates and its economic importance.
""I have every confidence in what Minnesota has done,"" Cannestra said.
