Minnesota Offers Bonus Of As Much As $27M For Quickly Built Bridge

Thursday, August 23rd 2007, 9:29 pm

By: News On 6

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) _ Minnesota transportation officials are dangling a bonus of up to $27 million if the construction company chosen to replace a collapsed interstate bridge completes the project ahead of schedule.

Officials are also giving construction companies less than three weeks to bid on the fast-tracked project to build a replacement for the Interstate 35W bridge, which collapsed Aug. 1, killing 13 people.

The state transportation department Thursday issued its request for proposals on a new bridge, with a due date of Sept. 10. Five firms are competing to build a 10-lane span to replace the eight-lane bridge.

The goal is to finish the new bridge by the end of 2008, a breakneck pace for such a large project. Construction could begin as soon as Oct. 15 depending on debris removal, design and required government consent.

``It is very aggressive, but it is workable,'' top department official Bob McFarlin said of the schedule.

MnDOT built incentives into the contract for quicker completion. McFarlin said the incentives cut both ways. He said contractors also take on more risk. If they agree to the incentive package, they forfeit the right to charge the department for cost overruns, employee overtime and premiums on rushed supply purchases.

Congress and President Bush have authorized $250 million toward the project. City and state officials say they want to design the bridge to accommodate a possible light rail transit line in the future, but federal money can't be used for that purpose. State or local governments will have to cover the added costs.

According to documents, the new bridge must be built to give inspectors and maintenance crews adequate room to work beneath the deck. There must be design features to ``prevent access of vermin and birds'' _ a nod to the pigeon problem on the previous span.

And unlike the failed bridge, the new one must have backup supports, or what is known as redundancy. The bridge is expected to accommodate an immediate daily traffic load of 154,000 vehicles a day, but projections have that climbing to 180,000 by 2030.