The Interstate 35W Bridge collapse, and the overall decay and safety of our bridges and roads, added urgency to the discussions about the need for a special legislative session. Now Minnesotans have suffered another huge setback. People lost loved ones in flooding in southern Minnesota. Raging waters destroyed homes, businesses, roads and bridges. For most, the floods ended the debate about whether we need a special session. Now the question is what critical issues we should take care of during that session. We are at risk of losing entire towns in southern Minnesota. The metropolitan area has a hole in its transportation system that has a daily affect on people’s lives and commerce. The governor should call us into session now so the Legislature can take action in both of these areas. We should also seize the opportunity to address the larger infrastructure issues the bridge collapse has made all too real. While we do not know the precise reasons for the collapse, there is much we do know. We know there were enough concerns over the design and condition of the bridge to call for increased inspections. These inspections went on for 17 years and led to a recommendation to reinforce the bridge to avoid a collapse. That recommendation was not followed. Instead, a repair of the road surface and more inspections of critical beams were approved by MnDOT. The resurfacing was underway, but the critical beam inspections were suspended at the time of the tragedy. Repair or replacement was put off to some vague future date that we now know was too late. We also know that more than 1,100 bridges across Minnesota have inspection "ratings" equally as bad as the I-35W Bridge, and another 450 bridges have worse ratings. In a few short weeks, school buses will be crossing those bridges. We also have bipartisan agreement that there is an enormous revenue shortfall in funding needed for transportation. MnDOT records show there are $1.7 billion in unmet needs for each year over the next 10 years. Twice in the last two years lawmakers passed bills with bipartisan support which significantly increased transportation funding. If either bill had been signed, instead of vetoed, substantial repairs and improvements would already be in the works. If we were to pass such a bill in a special session, we could begin making our roads and bridges safer much sooner. I believe Minnesotans expect action, and believe "the sooner the better." The Legislature and the governor have a responsibility to begin addressing these legitimate safety concerns now. Lawmakers are ready to go. The governor should call us into session. Quite simply, waiting until next year is an unnecessary delay. It’s time for all of us to pull together and do the right thing. We owe it to Minnesotans to act, and to act now.
Tarryl Clark, DFL-St. Cloud, serves as the assistant majority leader in the Senate. Her district includes parts of Stearns and Sherburne counties, including the city of St. Augusta.
