Final Report In, Minneapolis Moves to Repair Sabo Bridge
By: Mark Albert - KSTP Mpls St. Paul MN 6/29/2012
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| Sabo Bridge Failure, URS Project 2007 |
"we are focused on getting the bridge back in full service," said Heidi Hamilton, deputy director of the city's Public Works department.
On Friday, the city released a 140-page report by Illinois-based consultants Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, which contained the first close up photos released publicly of the damage caused to steel plates by wind vibrations. Click here to read the report.
The report also reveals that URS Corporation did take wind vibrations into account when it designed the bridge, but "deferred a final decision" on whether to install a stay cable damping system "until after construction." After "periodically," monitoring the bridge for 30 days after it opened, URS concluded the stay cable dampers, "were not necessary," the consultant's report notes.
A spokesman for URS issued the following statement Friday afternoon:
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| Sabo Bridge Failure- URS Project 2007 |
Final Report In, Minneapolis Moves to Repair Sabo Bridge
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| Google Search "Wiss,Janney,Elstner Associates Richard C. Blum" |
Economies at UC Berkeley Foundation, with a funding guarantee from
private donor Richard C. Blum"
Feb 3, 2009 – private donor Richard C. Blum. The University will .... Forell/Elsesser Engineers, Inc. and peer reviewed by structural engineers Wiss, Janney, Elstner. Associates, Inc. as required by UC Berkeley Capital Projects and the SRC. Naval Architecture Building Restoration and Addition
Minneapolis and Hennepin County have awarded Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc. of Illinois a $100,000 no-bid contract Sabo Bridge closed to pedestrians, bicyclists
In March 2002, Gov. Gray Davis appointed Blum to a 12-year term as a regent of the University of California. For the next three years, both URS and Perini benefited from construction contracts awarded by the regents
In November 2005, Blum resigned from the URS board of directors and also divested his investment firm of about $220 million in URS stock. In April 2006, the Feinstein-Blum family made a $15 million “gift” to UC Berkeley. The expanded business school is slated to house the Richard C. Blum Center for Developing Economies, which will encourage students to study the effects of global poverty upon political radicalism The Byrne Report: Looking into Blum’s Connections to UC Construction
In 2003 the state department of transportation contracted with URS Corporation to inspect the bride and recommend repairs. In 2007 the department awarded a contract to a construction firm to repair the bridge. Repairs began in June 2007 with the intent to be completed in September 2007. While the repair work was still in progress, however, the bridge collapsed and thirteen people were killed and more than 100 were injured. Statute of Repose Bars Indemnification Claim against Engineer that Designed Bridge that Collapsed
Midtown Greenway Bridge Over Hiawatha Avenue: Approve layout, and authorize Limited Use
Permit Agreement with MnDOT- Will be renamed the Martin Olaf Sabo Bridge
Aug 19,2005 Minneapolis City Council Official Prodeedings
Federal contracting would be key for the new company, whose combined 2006 revenue is $7.6 billion, the fourth-highest among . publicly-traded engineering and construction companies.
The new company would be one of the top five providers of defense technical services. This month, URS was one of two companies that won a contract to help manage post-disaster housing inspection services for the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency.
This year, activists attacked Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) for having an alleged conflict of interest because she held key positions on the Senate's military construction appropriations subcommittee while her husband, Richard Blum, had financial interests in URS. Feinstein's office denied any ethical problems."
Democrat Dianne Feinstein: A Bridge Too Far
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| URS- Consultant on the 35w Bridge Disaster 2007 |
"When Mark Dayton ran for Minnesota governor in 2010, he said the state should end its ties with URS because it did not find the major design flaw in the Interstate 35-W bridge that collapsed...."
"The URS Corporation of San Francisco is among those bidding to design the estimated $620 million four-lane span. And if it doesn’t win the contract, URS still wants to be chosen to review the final design" URS Corporation bidding for St. Croix River bridge design
Another project hangs in the balance for URS. "A $94 million contract to engineer the new Southwest Light Rail line, has now met with representatives from URS about the problems with the Sabo bridge, a spokesperson confirmed." Despite Pledge, Sabo Bridge Report Not Released Thursday
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I have written a few blogs about the connections of Democrats with URS and these projects and problems. The facts are a google search away, yet the Democrat governor and big spending government continue to be ignored by a complicit and liberal media.
