The announcement took place at a news conference on the bridge, with a backdrop of cement trucks rolling by to supply members of Cement Masons Local 633 working on a final concrete pour.
Pawlenty praised the "bi-partisan cooperation" that put the $234 million bridge on an accelerated construction schedule.
Other elected officials who spoke echoed the theme of bi-partisan cooperation and also thanked the construction workers who built the bridge.
 |
| Construction workers take a break and watch the news conference. |
"The workers are to be commended for a job very well done — very, very well done," said Mary Peters, U.S. Secretary of Transportation. She called for applause for "those in hard-hats" and their contribution of "so much sweat and so much passion to build this bridge."
Normally, Peters said, building a bridge of this scale "would have taken years." She added: "It shouldn\'t\' take a tragedy to build a bridge this fast in America, but it has."
U.S. Representative Jim Oberstar, who chairs the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, recounted the quick action by Congress to provide funds for replacing the bridge in the wake of the sudden collapse of the old bridge August 1, 2007. "In 48 hours, there was a quarter of a billion dollars from the federal government, 100 percent federal funds, 100 percent bi-partisan," he said.
"Disasters can bring out the worst in people, or the best. They can unite us or divide us. This bridge brought out the best in Minnesota" said U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.
"We are united in the idea that we have to invest in our nation\'s infrastructure," said U.S. Representative Keith Ellison. "We\'ve got to use this as a call to action" to rebuild roads and bridges, Ellison said, "and also to put Americans back to work."
"We have a lot more to do," said State Representative Margaret Anderson Kelliher, House Speaker. Addressing Governor Pawlenty directly by name, she told him "it should be more or less ordinary that we tackle our problems" with a sense of urgency and bi-partisan cooperation.
Speaker Kelliher invited some special speakers to the microphone, students from the school bus caught on the bridge whose rescue was one of the dramatic stories of the day.
"I really want to thank the construction workers for building this bridge over again," said one of the students.
"The project was built in record time and on budget," said Tom Sorel, Minnesota Commissioner of Transportation.
 |
| The new bridge features two 30-foot tall gateway sculptures at each end, marking the crossing of the river. The curved concrete forms are inspired by the universal symbol for water. |
He added: "They treated their workforce well and kept it safe."
"I\'m very proud of the Minnesota workers on this project," Sorel continued. "I want to thank them and their families for the sacrifices they endured."
The bridge was built under a Project Labor Agreement with the Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades Council, an agreement that provided for all-union construction work in exchange for a no-strike pledge.
For the Building Trades, the project brought thousands and thousands of job hours for a workforce that grew to nearly 600 workers per day and also extensive overtime pay as work continued 24-hours a day, seven days a week from the start of construction November 1, 2007.
"We were able to showcase our skills and training that lead the nation," said Mike Hawthorne, business manager for the Minneapolis Building Trades Council. "Flatiron was able to come in and tell our people what needed to be done and they were able to do it."
Steve Share edits the Labor Review, the official publication of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation. Visit the federation\'s website, www.minneapolisunions.org
 |
| Construction workers greet three students who were on the school bus that fell with the old bridge. |
Photos by Steve Share, Minneapolis Labor Review
Share
The announcement took place at a news conference on the bridge, with a backdrop of cement trucks rolling by to supply members of Cement Masons Local 633 working on a final concrete pour.
Pawlenty praised the "bi-partisan cooperation" that put the $234 million bridge on an accelerated construction schedule.
Other elected officials who spoke echoed the theme of bi-partisan cooperation and also thanked the construction workers who built the bridge.
|
| Construction workers take a break and watch the news conference. |
"The workers are to be commended for a job very well done — very, very well done," said Mary Peters, U.S. Secretary of Transportation. She called for applause for "those in hard-hats" and their contribution of "so much sweat and so much passion to build this bridge."
Normally, Peters said, building a bridge of this scale "would have taken years." She added: "It shouldn\’t\’ take a tragedy to build a bridge this fast in America, but it has."
U.S. Representative Jim Oberstar, who chairs the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, recounted the quick action by Congress to provide funds for replacing the bridge in the wake of the sudden collapse of the old bridge August 1, 2007. "In 48 hours, there was a quarter of a billion dollars from the federal government, 100 percent federal funds, 100 percent bi-partisan," he said.
"Disasters can bring out the worst in people, or the best. They can unite us or divide us. This bridge brought out the best in Minnesota" said U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.
"We are united in the idea that we have to invest in our nation\’s infrastructure," said U.S. Representative Keith Ellison. "We\’ve got to use this as a call to action" to rebuild roads and bridges, Ellison said, "and also to put Americans back to work."
"We have a lot more to do," said State Representative Margaret Anderson Kelliher, House Speaker. Addressing Governor Pawlenty directly by name, she told him "it should be more or less ordinary that we tackle our problems" with a sense of urgency and bi-partisan cooperation.
Speaker Kelliher invited some special speakers to the microphone, students from the school bus caught on the bridge whose rescue was one of the dramatic stories of the day.
"I really want to thank the construction workers for building this bridge over again," said one of the students.
"The project was built in record time and on budget," said Tom Sorel, Minnesota Commissioner of Transportation.
|
| The new bridge features two 30-foot tall gateway sculptures at each end, marking the crossing of the river. The curved concrete forms are inspired by the universal symbol for water. |
He noted that Flatiron-Manson, the firm awarded the $234 million contract to build the bridge, "brought great innovation."
He added: "They treated their workforce well and kept it safe."
"I\’m very proud of the Minnesota workers on this project," Sorel continued. "I want to thank them and their families for the sacrifices they endured."
The bridge was built under a Project Labor Agreement with the Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades Council, an agreement that provided for all-union construction work in exchange for a no-strike pledge.
For the Building Trades, the project brought thousands and thousands of job hours for a workforce that grew to nearly 600 workers per day and also extensive overtime pay as work continued 24-hours a day, seven days a week from the start of construction November 1, 2007.
"We were able to showcase our skills and training that lead the nation," said Mike Hawthorne, business manager for the Minneapolis Building Trades Council. "Flatiron was able to come in and tell our people what needed to be done and they were able to do it."
Steve Share edits the Labor Review, the official publication of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation. Visit the federation\’s website, www.minneapolisunions.org
|
| Construction workers greet three students who were on the school bus that fell with the old bridge. |
Photos by Steve Share, Minneapolis Labor Review