You are right that the bridge will encourage sprawl. My main point is that we have to take care of what we have before we add capacity.

Tell me something which will not further sprawl.
Developers go in, get theirs & get out.

Cities never allocate land well.

I guess the bridge going down - also prevents sprawl, because it is now harder for people to get to work across town, or from the ‘burbs.

So we shouldn’t replace the bridge? Ludicrous - yes, but its a similar argument, isn’t it?

I’m not saying that the gussets will be the final conclusion for the bridge collapse. There may be something else discovered. That said, I think the likelihood of a design defect or something related to the construction activity being causes of the collapse are logically more probable than something having to do with temperatures or other negligence, etc. But I’m certainly not taking wagers on anything yet.

Focus on gusset plates called ‘overblown’ http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/08/09/gussetfolo/

Did you read this?

The article makes it sound like everyones still pretty confused about the cause.

Investigators have found what may be a design flaw in the bridge~

~Gary Peterson, the state’s assistant bridge engineer, said he knew of no questions that had ever been raised about the gusset plates, no unique qualities to distinguish them from those on other bridges, no inkling of any problem during decades of inspections of the bridge.

“I don’t know what this could be,” Mr. Peterson said. “I’m frankly surprised at this point. I can’t even begin to speculate.”

Is it a theory, sure. Is the article interesting, sure. But for you to use that to pick a fight here shows me that you’re more interested in starting shit with people here than having consrtuctive conversation. It’s pretty weak, that’s what I’m saying, Chris.

Very very troll-like behavior.

Did you read the article? Clearly you didn’t because you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/us/09cnd-bridge.html?ei=5065&en=dfa3aa04d82c27f4&ex=1187236800&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print

Until you can write something intelligent, you’re back to permanent ignore status. And since you’re calling me names again, you’re the biggest fucking moron I’ve ever come across. You talk about poisoning the well, you’re just plain poison.

Not worth very much at this point…just a voice from the echo chamber. I don’t even care who the hell Hortmann is. I do care that a fucking troll thinks he can look down his petty nose here at people and constantly poison the well with bullshit, obsessively, again and again and again.

Funny how engineering is skewed to the right. Read the f-ing New York Times, you idiot. In no newspaper has the thought of a few 90 degree days been reported as a possible cause for the collapse. You’re just defending Hortman because she’s a DFLer. Seriously, I’ve never seen anyone who thinks everything is political. You are a glittering jewel of colossal ignorance and quite frankly a drain on anything constructive.