05 August 2008

Decaying Infrastructure on the Minds of Minnesota Voters

State increases spending for road, bridge repairs in wake of fatal collapse

Reopened Winona Bridge again joins Minnesota with Wisconsin. (Courtesy of Explore Minnesota Tourism)

By Kathryn McConnell
Staff Writer

Winona, Minnesota -– On August 1, local television, radio and newspapers focused on “the bridge” –- the section of elevated highway over the Mississippi River that catastrophically crumbled August 1, 2007, during evening rush hour.

The accident killed 13 and injured many more in one of Minnesota’s largest urban areas, which is also the site of the Republican National Convention September 1-4.

On the first anniversary of the collapse, the community came together in a day of observance with prayers, speeches and shared memories. The event reinforced for Minnesotans and other Americans the need for more public investment in the nation’s infrastructure. One in four U.S. bridges is in need of some repair, according to a national study released in July.

In Minnesota, within months of the August 2007 incident, all the state’s bridges were inspected and their safety ratings posted on the Minnesota Department of Transportation Internet site. A few were closed for repairs, including one linking Winona, 90 miles south of Minneapolis-St. Paul, to Wisconsin. That one-month closure required drivers to detour up to 120 miles.

In February, Minnesota’s legislature passed a bill to increase funding for roads, bridges and other transportation projects through increased gasoline taxes and taxes on motor vehicle sales and rentals. The 10-year, $6.5 billion measure was passed over the veto of Republican governor and potential vice presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty.

DECAYING INFRASTRUCTURE A KEY POLITICAL CONCERN

Like the rest of the country, Minnesotans are concerned about high gasoline prices and would prefer to avoid higher taxes. But, with the bridge collapse fresh in their memories, they seem supportive of their legislature’s commitment to spend public money on infrastructure projects that will keep them safe.

Robin, who declined to give her surname, works in a small Winona hotel blocks from the bridge. She said the closure did not harm her employer’s business, but did hurt her father, who owns a small manufacturing business across the Mississippi in Wisconsin. The Winona bridge repair meant he had to drive extra miles for materials for weeks, costing him fuel and time away from production. But the inconvenience was outweighed by the added safety repairs created, she said.

Jamie, who also declined to give her last name, works at a restaurant across the road and is enrolled in a paralegal studies program at one of the river city’s three colleges. She said she is leaning toward voting for Barack Obama in the presidential race because she feels the country needs new energy in its leadership.

She said she knows little about the Senate candidates, Republican Norm Coleman, the incumbent, and Al Franken, the endorsed Democrat. Nor does she know much about her congressional representative, Tim Walz, a Democrat, or his Republican Party-endorsed challenger, Brian Davis. Davis still faces a primary challenge from Dick Day in a September 9 Republican primary.

It is still summer in this northern state and attention now is more on boating, fishing and sport than on politics. But that focus likely will shift as cooler temperatures announce the arrival of fall and the national election season picks up momentum.