35W Bridge

Today Kerri & I met up with some family (Tammy, Alysa, Angie, Dylan, Caleb, and Kaylee) and went downtown to look at the progress being made on the new 35W bridge. My nephew, Chris, is working on the bridge and it was pretty incredible to see him at the edge of the current bridge expanse. He's been working 12-hour days, seven days a week, for a few months and the progress being made to the new bridge is a testament to the hard work that is happening.

We viewed the the 35W construction from the 10th St. bridge near the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities campus. As we were walking across and taking in different perspectives of the new bridge, it struck me at how surreal and horrifying it would have been to be in the same position last August as the old bridge came down. At the same time, life just kept going - people adjusted to the bridge being gone and made their way to and fro without much of a hassle. It seems like we've been desensitized a bit - a trip to the bridge site puts a little perspective on the frailty of things we often take for granted.

On the other hand, there has been plenty of action being taken by state transportation officials. It's been interesting to see all of the bridge checks that have been taking place in MN since the 35W bridge fell last year. I'm wondering if similar checks have been taking place in other states/regions since last summer? We've had a number of bridges not fare so well in check-up's in MN, with a couple of closures in heavily traveled areas (St. Cloud, Winona). Here's to hoping people are open to ideas of what it will take to ensure the things we take for granted every day don't make us realize we're taking them for granted...