The bridge that collapsed in Minnesota yesterday carried United States Interstate 35 over the Mississippi River. And, as we pointed out in a previous article, the proposed NAFTA superhighway will use the I-35 corridor.

Inspection reports had raised some concerns about fatigue in the metal components of the span. Such indicators should have triggered retrofit beyond the rather cosmetic efforts being made at the time of the catastrophic failure, particularly for such a critical component of our highway system. So the question arises, Why was this bridge not repaired or replaced in a timely manner?

Since this is a federal highway, garden variety negligence and incompetence by Congress is one obvious answer. The federal transportation budget had enough money, but the funds were squandered on pork barrel projects designed to buy votes for the incumbents (recall that bridge to nowhere in Alaska).

But there is also a more sinister possibility. It is possible that repairs were deferred, in anticipation of complete replacement with a wider bridge when the North America Supercorridor Coalition (NASCO) project reached Minneapolis. The 2001 report to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, prepared by the University of Minnesota, contains the following statement:

….The approach spans have exhibited several fatigue problems; primarily due to unanticipated out-of-plane distortion of the girders….Concern about fatigue cracking in the deck truss is heightened by a lack of redundancy in the main truss system. The detailed fatigue assessment in this report shows that fatigue cracking of the deck truss is not likely. Therefore, replacement of this bridge, and the associated very high cost, may be deferred.

Translation: The probability of catastrophic bridge collapse is low. Based on a cost/benefit analysis, we can gamble with the lives of our citizens. So those poor people who died in this disaster could be the first fatalities of the globalista cabal.

Some data points:

• The Republican senator from Minnesota, Norm Coleman, appears to have been opposed to the NAU corridor.
• Even though the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be conducting an investigation into the collapse, Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty (R) has ordered a separate investigation by a forensic engineering firm.
• There has been a serious disconnect between Democratic Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and Republican Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty. Ryback has virtually made Minneapolis a sanctuary city for illegal aliens, while Pawlenty has been in the forefront of the fight against illegal immigration.

References:

Design Magazine — Minneapolis’ I-35 Bridge Collapse: Is Structural Failure or Metal Fatigue to Blame?

USA Today — Big cities reluctant to target illegals:

Despite a federal effort to enlist help from local police to catch illegal immigrants, some of the USA’s biggest cities are declining to enforce immigration laws.

Police chiefs, mayors and city councils are ordering local cops not to get involved as federal agents crack down on people in the country illegally.

“Vulnerable people have always needed to see the police as being there to protect and serve, and that can’t happen when the first words out of a cop’s mouth are, ‘I need to see your papers,’ ” Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said….

Minnesota Public Radio — Pawlenty outlines plan to fight illegal immigration:

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has released a series of proposals designed to crack down on criminal activity by undocumented immigrants. The governor wants to form a team of state agents to enforce federal immigration laws, enact stiffer penalties for using false documents, and increase monitoring of illegal immigrants who have been arrested. Pawlenty says the proposals will protect the public….