Minnesota Halfway on Goal to Repair, Replace Bridges

ST. PAUL  (AP) - Minnesota transportation officials say the state is about halfway toward its goal of repairing or replacing deficient bridges by 2018.

The Department of Transportation was criticized for not making bridges a top priority after the Interstate 35W bridge collapse in 2007 that killed 13 people and injured more than 100 others.

The state has identified 136 bridges as having the most serious deficiencies.  Seventy of the 136 will be fixed by the end of this year. The projects are part of a $2.5 billion repair program created by the Legislature the year after the I-35 collapse.

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