Thursday, August 02, 2007
Governor Culver Orders Immediate Review Of Iowa Bridge Safety
(Des Moines) Today, Governor Chet Culver has instructed Iowa Department of Transportation Director Nancy Richardson to conduct an immediate review of the safety of Iowa bridges. Specifically, the Governor has asked Director Richardson to do the following:
- Review all information related to recent bridge inspections and provide the Governor with a briefing on the overall safety of Iowa bridges;
- Specifically identify any bridges in Iowa that are similar in design to the I-35W bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis and immediately perform a follow-up inspection of the identified bridge(s); and
- Remain in constant contact with Minnesota transportation officials to piece together why the bridge in Minneapolis collapsed and steps Iowa can take to prevent a similar incident from ever occurring in the state of Iowa.
STATEMENT FROM GOVERNOR CHET CULVER:
“Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the victims, their families, Governor Pawlenty and other Minnesota public officials as they respond to this tragedy. The State of Iowa will continue to offer any assistance necessary to help our neighbors in need as they move forward.
“This upsetting event has caused every state to assess bridge safety. As Governor, Iowans’ public safety will continue to be my top priority, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that Iowa bridges are safe.
“Iowa Department of Transportation Director Nancy Richardson has assured me that IDOT conducts regularly and timely inspections of our bridges using uniform federal standards. If a bridge is deemed unsafe to drive under those standards, it is closed. Nonetheless, I believe in the wake of what happened in Minneapolis we can’t be too cautious when it comes to bridge safety.
“In an effort to gather facts and better assess the current state of our bridges, I have asked Director Richardson to review all the information on recent bridge inspections in Iowa and provide me with a briefing on the overall safety of our state’s bridges. In particular, I have asked her to identify bridges in Iowa that are similar in design to the bridge that failed in Minneapolis, to review their most recent inspections, and to perform an immediate follow-up inspection.
“I have also asked that she remain in constant contact with her Minnesota counterparts to gather as much information as possible on what exactly happened with the I-35W bridge and how we can prevent this tragic incident from ever happening in our state.”