Almanac: At the Capitol

The question I keep getting asked is, "Is Gov. Pawlenty throwing Lt. Gov. Molnau under the bus?" I don't know for sure, but talk is spreading in political circles. It was telling that the Lt. Gov/Transportation Commissioner held her first press conference at her office, not with Pawlenty, not on site of the bridge collapse. (I reported at one point yesterday that I thought I saw her standing by Pawlenty's side, I was wrong, it was someone else who looked like her — sorry it's a crazy time). Many I've talked to are surprised about how direct the governor is being about MNDOT's responsibility and where the blame could land. As I said in an earlier post, MNDOT is an easy and often target. How many people run around defending the enormous and often sluggish state agency? Plus, insiders know the Pawlenty-Molnau relationship hasn't been all smooth sailing. There was a lot of talk if Molnau would be on the ticket for the gov's re-election bid. At his campaign announcement Molnau introduced him with some acerbic comments saying something like "at least my name will be on some of the signs." They've publicly differed on big transportation issues like light rail. We'll see if the two-for-one Transportation Commissioner/Lt. Gov. will survive this battle. Tune in to Almanac tonight to see us pose that question and more as Gov. Pawlenty and Mayor Rybak join us live in the studio.

Here's the email I got from a viewer along with alarming photos you have to see:

Here is the Highway 36 bridge as it passes over Minnesota 95N in Bayport just before you veer left and go down the hill into Stillwater. I cross my fingers each time I drive under it. This "patch" has been in place for at least 5 years.

Another interesting article is from a former Strib reporter working for Matt Entenza's think tank. Also, KARE did some good digging on the story. Tonight on Almanac, we're planning a special 90 minute edition. We're likely to have U.S. House Transportation Chair James Oberstar, Sen. Norm Coleman and Mayor R.T. Rybak live on the show. State Capitol transportation experts Sen. Steve Murphy and Rep. Mary Liz Holberg are booked. We're still waiting to hear back from Gov. Pawlenty...

I find it interesting that the PR message from the White House and the Governor's office seem to be clashing. Gov. Pawlenty's message has been that the bridge was inspected and got a "clean" bill of health. Now President Bush's office is saying that the bridge had "structural problems." These are certainly two different messages that I'm bet Pawlenty's office doesn't appreciate. Politics has officially begun, just two minutes into Pres. Bush's press conference he noted that Democrats won the last election and now they control the calendar in congress. It's almost setting up the stage that if disaster relief doesn't come quickly you know who to blame. Oberstar is marking up a transportation bill right now for $250 million to replace the bridge. He will try to get it through the House today. Senators Coleman and Klobuchar expect to return to Washington later today to likely pass the same bill through the other chamber. We'll see if congress can move quickly.

The BBC just spent the top ten minutes of its newscast on the Minneapolis tragedy. So this is big international news. Federal money is surely on the way since congress is still in session. In fact, Transportation Committee Chair Oberstar was the first politician I heard from tonight in an early email alert. At the state level, I'm thinking there might be renewed push for a special session. I'm assuming emergency funds will be needed immediately and a special session may be required to appropriate money for clean up and rebuilding. Politicians will want to try to get a new bridge up and running before hundreds of thousands of people hit the Twin Cities for the Republican National Convention next summer. I wonder if it's really possible to get a bridge of that nature constructed in time. Also, I would bet other major projects like the new Wacouta bridge could be reassessed especially after it has been plagued by problems during construction. Of course MNDOT will be the source of a lot of scrutiny and is a common and likely punching bag. Gov. Pawlenty is already playing defense by noting there was no structural damage noted in inspections. The governor also mentioned the current construction that was going on at the time of the collapse. Here's MNDOT's release:

I-35W will narrow to one lane in Minneapolis over two nights, July 31 and Aug. 1

ROSEVILLE, Minn. — Nighttime bridge overlay work will require Minnesota Department of Transportation crews to temporarily restrict traffic to a single lane on I-35W.

The northbound lanes of I-35W between I-94 and Highway 36 will be restricted to a single lane from 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 31, through 5 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 1 and again from 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 1, through 5 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 2.

Southbound I-35W will be restricted to a single lane from 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 1 until 5 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 2.