August 2007

1 August 2007

• At 6:05 p.m., the 35W Bridge over the Mississippi River collapses, killing 13 and injuring 145.

2 August 2007

• Victim Julia Blackhawk is identified.
• Victim Sherry Engebretsen is identified.
• Victim Patrick Holmes is identified.
• Victim Artemio Trinidad-Mena is identified.

• U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters orders inspections of all steel deck truss bridges in the U.S. and releases $5M in emergency aid to Minnesota.

3 August 2007

• Victim Paul Eickstadt is identified.

• First Lady Laura Bush visits the bridge collapse site.
• Jon Chiglo is named Mn/DOT project manager for the 35W rebuilding effort.
• The U.S. Senate and House pass a bill (HR 3311) authorizing up to $250 million for rebuilding.

4 August 2007

• President Bush visits the bridge collapse site.
• A forensic analysis of the collapse is to be conducted by Wiss Janney Elstner, a Chicago-area engineering and consulting firm that specializes in failure investigation and disaster recovery. Mn/DOT is paying $2M for this study.

  The Stone Arch Bridge (foreground) and the 10th Street bridge (background). The 35W Bridge was in between.   Photo by Mulad.

5 August 2007

• A debris removal contractor, Carl Bolander and Sons of St. Paul, is selected.
• The Stone Arch Bridge reopens to pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

6 August 2007

• Mn/DOT completes inspections on four of five arch tress bridges in Minnesota. They are Hwy 23 over the Mississippi in St. Cloud, Hwy 123 over the Kettle River in Sandstone, Hwy 243 over the St. Croix to Osceola, WI, and 1st St. South bridge in Sauk Rapids. Final bridge inspection, of Gooseberry Falls bridge over Hwy 61 begins  today. 
• President Bush signs HR 3311 into law. HR 3311 authorizes funds for emergency repairs and reconstruction of the 35W Bridge.

8 August 2007

• Mn/DOT requires all companies interested in bidding on the reconstruction project to submit their qualifications by 6 a.m.

9 August 2007

• Victim Peter J. Hausmann is identified.
• Victims Sadiya Sahal and her daughter, Hanah Sahal are identified.

• Mn/DOT accepts five contracting teams to submit proposal and cost estimates. The teams are Ames/Lunda, C.S. McCrossan, Flatiron Constructors/Johnson Bros., KTM Constructors, and Walsh Construction/American Bridge.

10 August 2007

• U.S. Secretary of Transportation Peters announces $50M advance in emergency relief funds, which is part of the $250M authorized by Congress.

12 August 2007

• Victim Richard Chit, son of Vera Peck, is identified.
• Controversial temporary wooden staircase to the south bank of the river is completed by Graham Penn-Co Construction Inc. of Eagan, subcontractor to Carl Bolander and Sons, Inc. Cost was approximately $157,400. 

   

16 August 2007

• Victim Vera Peck, mother of Richard Chit, is identified.
• Victim Christine Sacorafas is identified.

• Bolander and Sons report they have removed approximately 100 cars from the bridge collapse site.

19 August 2007

• Victim Scott Sathers is identified.

20 August 2007

• Final victim, Greg Jolstad, is identified.

22 August 2007

•  A state legislative panel meets with state Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles to request an update of a 1997 state highways and bridges evaluation report. 

23 August 2007

• Mn/DOT delivers the Request for Proposal (RFP) to five selected design-build teams for the St. Anthony Falls (I-35W) bridge.

28 August 2007

• KTM Constructors withdraws as a potential bridge contractor.

31 August 2007

• The 10th Avenue bridge over the Mississippi River reopens. It was closed after the collapse on 1 August to be used as a staging area for the rescue and recovery efforts. Before reopening, it was reconfigured to allow for a pedestrian viewing area.

Continue on to the after August 2007 chronology.

Go back to the before August 2007 chronology.