I-35 bndge update

[polksalet]

From the MNDOT website about Visual Quality:

 

"The Visual Quality Advisory Team includes representatives from the National Park Service, City of Minneapolis, Minneapolis Park Board; State Historic Preservation Office and the Friends of Mississippi River. The Federal Highway Administration and Mn/DOT's Metro Division Design Build Team, and Offices of Bridge, Technical Support and Environmental Services provide support.

The Advisory Team has developed a list of recommendations for the new bridge. These recommendations have been supplied to the four design-build teams preparing proposals for the project.

The Visual Quality Advisory Team will continue to work with the contracting team selected to design and build the new bridge.

Recommendations: The following qualities should be inherent in the design of the new I-35W St. Anthony Bridge:

„h The new bridge should be an integrated whole in which all elements compliment the overall appearance of the structure.

„h The final design solution should result in an Ў§elegant simplicityЎЁ in which the Ў§engineered lines and proportionsЎЁ are the primary design element.

„h The design elements should exhibit fluid lines in the overall presentation of the bridge.

„h The new bridge should respect, not imitate, the historic and natural setting.

„h The design of the new bridge should compliment the adjacent Tenth Avenue Bridge and the St. Anthony Falls Historic District.

„h Consider the many and varied vantage points from which the bridge is viewed. (from the river and riverfront, from adjacent bridges, from neighboring buildings and residences)

„h Consider the appearance of the new bridge both during the day and at night. (architectural accent lighting should be included in the design solution)

„h Travelers should have a clear sense of a bridge Ў§crossingЎЁ that celebrates or communicates that one is crossing the Mississippi River.

„h Recognize that this segment of the I-35W Corridor is the only location within a unit of the National Park Service.

„h Include provisions for future amenities such as the East River Parkway and trail extension to Main Street and the proposed whitewater park.

„h Minimize negative impacts on the neighborhood fabric that could result from revisions to the approaches, exits, and entrances from the freeway.

„h Way-finding or interpretive signage should be incorporated into the roadway/bridge design.

„h The design should integrate "greenscape" to the greatest extent possible.

„h Recognize that the new bridge design itself can be an uplifting, beautiful part of a Ў§memorialЎЁ."

 

Things I did not know:

 

In a National Park? Must be a very small National Park.

 

In a Historic District? Good Point, but why the heck was an Interstate Highway put in the middle of a historic district anyway? That also means they should not tear any buildings down for widening.

 

"Minimize negative impacts on the neighborhood fabric that could result from revisions to the approaches, exits, and entrances from the freeway."

 

I take that to say the propsed widening does not meet the aesthetic goals.

 

"The design should integrate "greenscape" to the greatest extent possible."

[Ursa Majoris]

They awarded the contract for the bridge yesterday. It went to the highest bidder (by $57m!!), the one who said it would take the longest time and the one with no local connection. Also, MNDoT have refused to show the public the bridge design. Hooray for open government.

 

Someone already got their palm greased.

[Yukon Cornelius]

They awarded the contract for the bridge yesterday. It went to the highest bidder (by $57m!!), the one who said it would take the longest time and the one with no local connection. Also, MNDoT have refused to show the public the bridge design. Hooray for open government.

 

Someone already got their palm greased.

wurd

[geeteebee]

They awarded the contract for the bridge yesterday. It went to the highest bidder (by $57m!!), the one who said it would take the longest time and the one with no local connection. Also, MNDoT have refused to show the public the bridge design. Hooray for open government.

 

Someone already got their palm greased.

 

yeah, cuz I'm sure the last bridge went to the lowest bidder who showed everybody a pretty picture and used all locals to build it...and we all know well that worked out.

[Big John]

yeah, cuz I'm sure the last bridge went to the lowest bidder who showed everybody a pretty picture and used all locals to build it...and we all know well that worked out.

The normal process is to have the DOT design it themselves or have a consulting firm design it. If they choose the consultant, the specific design consultant is based on qualifications and is not allowed to be on price. After the final design and construction specifications are approved, the construction is let to another contractor and this is the only area bidding is done for lowest construction cost, with considerations sometimes to factor such as local or DBE (minority- or women-owned firms) involvement. Then the DOT or selected consult inspects the construction while it is happening.

 

A newer process being used here is called design-build. This is where a contract is bid and then that contractor designs and builds the project. This is what is being done here. It had its advantages and disadvantages: The advantages is that it usually makes the project quicker, a major consideration in this case, than the before mentioned process. And it could save money if done correctly (This caveat is important). Disadvantages are that there is usually less oversight and problems can go undetected, and can fuel corruption if there is there is not sufficient of the agency running and awarding the contracts.

Edited September 23, 2007 by Big John

[Skippy]

I work very closely within the bidding process. I bid many jobs but it is very strange and would take to long to explain but I see the coruption all the time. Bids being awarded due to minority ownership when they come in much more than the non-minority or woman owned company are my biggest beef and it lends itself to major coruption right there. If was to start up my very own company and bid these sorts of jobs you can rest assured that my partner would be a black woman. Working within the process and seeing the bids clearly makes me understand how I could make a bundle as a private company.

[jackshi17]

I hear Alaska has some bridge plans that they are not using any longer.

I believe it was called the bridge to nowhere.

[Yukon Cornelius]

I hear Alaska has some bridge plans that they are not using any longer.

I believe it was called the bridge to nowhere.

oh they used them ....

[jackshi17]

oh they used them ....

 

'Bridge to nowhere' has met its end

September 23, 2007

 

JUNEAU - Alaska has decided that the bridge sometimes called "the bridge to nowhere" really was going nowhere, officially abandoning the Ketchikan project that became a national symbol of federal pork-barrel spending. Governor Sarah Palin said Friday that the project was $329 million short of full funding. "We went through political hot water, tons of it, and not just nationally but internationally," said Joe Williams, Ketchikan-Gateway Borough mayor. "We have nothing to show for it." The $398 million bridge would have connected Ketchikan, on one island in southeastern Alaska, to its airport on another island. "We will continue to look for options for Ketchikan to allow better access to the island," the Republican governor said. (AP)

[Ursa Majoris]

'Bridge to nowhere' has met its end

September 23, 2007

 

JUNEAU - Alaska has decided that the bridge sometimes called "the bridge to nowhere" really was going nowhere, officially abandoning the Ketchikan project that became a national symbol of federal pork-barrel spending. Governor Sarah Palin said Friday that the project was $329 million short of full funding. "We went through political hot water, tons of it, and not just nationally but internationally," said Joe Williams, Ketchikan-Gateway Borough mayor. "We have nothing to show for it." The $398 million bridge would have connected Ketchikan, on one island in southeastern Alaska, to its airport on another island. "We will continue to look for options for Ketchikan to allow better access to the island," the Republican governor said. (AP)

The remainder of this story is that Alaska can keep the money and spend it wherever else it sees fit.

[Yukon Cornelius]

The remainder of this story is that Alaska can keep the money and spend it wherever else it sees fit.

wurd ... hugh scammer alert