NTSB Doing Its Job

While Steve Murphy and Company are sniping at Pawlenty and Molnau and even NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker for being a Bush appointee, NTSB is calmly and proficiently doing its job for the public.

The report on the St. Anthony bridge can be found here. Look at the picture of the bridge beams and gussets on page 14. Here is another diagram of the bridge. This report is complex, but I urge you to skim through it to learn a few things.

• Learn how little you know about bridges and forces and the dynamic interplay of forces.
• Look at the complex mathematical formulas in the report.
• If you can do the math, thank a teacher.
• If you can’t do the math, thank God that someone else can so bridges are built properly or can be analyzed to be inadequate.
• Realize that Steve Murphy doesn’t have a clue what he is saying when he retorted, ". . . the report is "not worth the paper it's printed on"."
• Realize that the NTSB has published the data and their reasoning for the bridge collapse so that any engineer can check it. If the NTSB is not right in their calculations, some engineer will find it.
• You know the NTSB checked and double checked and triple checked all their work.

Empirical evidence is extremely difficult to refute. Murphy doesn’t even attempt to deal with the facts. He just dismisses the report as worthless.

Based on this report the NTSB issued this press release. Missouri, the Show Me state, didn’t count the report to be worthless as Minnesota’s Senate Transportation Chair does.

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MoDOT Studying Minneapolis-Style Bridges

Statement from Director Pete Rahn In Response to Federal Findings

Missouri Department of Transportation Director Pete Rahn issued the following statement today in response to yesterday's federal report citing gusset plates (steel plates that connect the beams of a bridge's frame) as the probable cause of the Minneapolis bridge collapse.

Knowing what likely caused the Minneapolis bridge collapse is a big help to us, and I appreciate the quick work of the federal officials involved. We're using their recommendations in the study we've begun today of all 232 truss bridges on the state highway system - these truss bridges are the type that use gusset plates in the design. Any deficiencies we discover will be corrected immediately.

Read more....

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Hats-off to the NTSB for their work identifying the structural design flaw in the bridge. This is of such import that their preliminary report calls all jurisdictions to check the design calculations for this type of bridge in order to prevent similar catastrophes.

Hats-off to the NTSB for their calm and staid work in the face of the taunting, mocking, dismissive, unhinged left in Minnesota. The motoring public is served by the NTSB and not Murphy. When the final report is out, Murphy will still not realize he is out of touch with reality. In the meantime, don’t pay any attention to any of his ideas. His gussets have collapsed.

Politicizing the NTSB

The hyperventilating reaction to the preliminary NTSB report, demonstrates that science is being politicized. How can a report about some hard, cold, steel plates trigger such hot-headed carping? The reason–people who have already made up their minds are not interested in facts.

The NTSB tested the ½" x 6' x 10' steel plates, probably for tensile strength, bending capacity, compression load, shearing force, brittleness, contaminants and more. It found the material in the steel plates was not defective.

However, the NTSB found the 16 plates were undersized for the work they were intended to do in the bridge. The plates should have been 1" thick. The NTSB said this flaw was in the bridge structure from the day it was constructed according to blueprints. It was a design flaw.

These 16 large plates gave way and started the bridge collapse. However, the NTSB said explicitly they did not know what caused the undersized plates to give way. The final report will not be complete for months. If we are sane, we will wait for the final report.

Senate Transportation Chair Steve Murphy (DFL-Red Wing) said, “I've always said, 'Let's wait for the report.'” That’s good practice, but now that the preliminary report is out, Murphy said “the report is "not worth the paper it's printed on."” So why is the report he was waiting for now worthless? Because “. . . NTSB's initial conclusion was reached with the assistance of an engineering consultant hired by MnDOT.”

Minnesotans deserve much better than this from the Senate Transportation Chair. The same tests on the 16 gusset plates can be conducted repeatedly and the same conclusion will be reached. The material was not defective. The same mathematical formulas can be recalculated numerous times with the same results, showing the plates were undersized. All this data and the calculations will be in the final report for any person to review. So a MnDOT hired engineering consultant who assists NTSB would have every reason to be accurate and forthright. Murphy willfully attacked the integrity of that engineer and the NTSB.

Facts are stubborn things. But Murphy will not let facts get in his way. He must have evidence during the next few months before the legislative recess to attack Molnau and Pawlenty and lock his enormous tax increases on us for transportation as he sees fit. The NTSB report is dismissed as worthless.

He wants his own report. He and the senate will spend $500,000 of our money on their own hired guns to come up with a report before the legislature adjourns. It will be impossible for Murphy to demonstrate his hired report will not be prejudiced and therefore worthless. Yet in Murphy’s mind, his worthless report will trump NTSB’s worthless report.

Murphy has unequivocally demonstrated that he is not qualified to be the Senate Transportation Chair, let alone a senator or even a member of a jury. Senate District 28 would do all of Minnesota a big favor by voting him out of office. Better yet, Murphy should resign.

Pitt Appeals Firing

Now that Sonia Pitt has appealed her firing from Mn/DOT, maybe Tarryl Clark will learn a lesson in patience. Earlier we had noted that she said, "Pitt's firing was welcome "but three months late"."

Mn/DOT was wise to take its time to make a proper case for firing its employee, knowing that it could be appealed. It takes time to dot the "i"s and cross the "t"s, not just to prepare the case for the firing, but be prepared for an appeal.

Meanwhile, Steve Murphy and other Democrats have been castigating Mn/DOT for its incompetency. For all their eagerness to get rid of Pitt (Jeremy Kalin included), what will they say if Pitt is reinstated? I suppose they will condemn Mn/DOT for being incompetent once again.

More Democrat Rhetoric

Molnau should leave MnDOT post, legislator urges governor

Pawlenty says he won't fire MnDOT commissioner Carol Molnau in response to charges by the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee that she is incompetent.
Article by Mark Brunswick

"In an escalating war of words, the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday said Gov. Tim Pawlenty should fire Transportation Commissioner Carol Molnau -- who is also lieutenant governor -- for what he said were numerous examples of incompetence.

A Pawlenty spokesman said the governor's office would not fire Molnau, who has faced criticism and renewed calls for her ouster since the collapse of the Interstate-35W bridge in Minneapolis on Aug. 1.

While he did not directly blame Molnau's stewardship for the collapse of the bridge, Sen. Steve Murphy, D-Red Wing, criticized Molnau and other MnDOT leaders for their actions following the collapse. He pointed to MnDOT's choice of the highest bidder for the replacement bridge, lawsuits and complaints filed by losing bidders, and the agency's emergency manager failing to return from a business trip to the East Coast for 10 days after the collapse as evidence of a need for change.

"The public has completely lost confidence in the leadership at MnDOT and so has the Legislature," Murphy said, standing near the LaFayette Bridge over the Mississippi River in St. Paul. The bridge is one of about 100 in the state with nonredundant, fracture-critical components like the I-35W bridge, and which are rated "structurally deficient."We have a serious problem in the state of Minnesota and we need serious people with serious answers. We need someone in there who is a professional, that knows engineering, that knows transportation and that is not Carol Molnau," said Murphy, with several other legislators standing nearby.

Murphy said the full Senate would likely consider refusing to confirm Molnau as transportation commissioner as one of its first duties when the legislature convenes in February and that the Senate has the votes to reject her confirmation. A commissioner may serve without confirmation, but if rejected, Molnau could be forced from the MnDOT post but she would retain her elected position as lieutenant governor.

The request for Molnau's termination comes in the midst of a larger debate over transportation funding and questions about a cash flow problem in the department, with the possibility raised of postponed projects to fund the I-35W bridge reconstruction.

Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung dismissed Murphy's remarks as personal name calling and said the governor is interested in moving ahead on a comprehensive transportation plan when the Legislature convenes in February. McClung said Molnau has been working through significant issues in a department that has historically generated controversy.

"From our perspective, Senator Murphy has been holding out this confirmation issue. We hope that legislators are going to take a fair approach to looking at her confirmation. We believe she should be confirmed," McClung said.

McClung said Pawlenty continues to express support for Molnau and that Pawlenty has had no reservations about Molnau serving a dual role as lieutenant governor and transportation commissioner."

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Senator Murphy’s call for Molnau’s termination is obviously the voice that Rep. Kalin (17B) wants. Kalin’s press releases (links previously noted) demonstrate the itch to be rid of her.

Rather than pull together to overcome the crisis caused by the bridge collapse, the Dems play political games. Someone must be blamed. That is especially convenient when the other party is in administration. You can bet your last dollar that the libs would not be making this call if they were holding administrative power.

Why is the Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee now faulting Molnau for "...about 100 [bridges] in the state with nonredundant, fracture-critical components like the I-35W bridge..." when that is his jurisdiction as well? How is it that the sudden collapse of one bridge brings all these other bridges on his radar screen? Doesn’t he read Mn/DOT reports? Isn’t it his specific job to keep tabs on the condition of bridges and the schedule for repair or replacement? The very fact that he can identify bridges with "...nonredundant, fracture-critical components..." implies he has read reports. Did he just now read the reports? If he read them earlier, where was his and his committee’s plan for repair or replacement? After all, the average citizen has known for years that the backlog of bridge repair/replacement has been growing. It doesn’t require being a senator to know this. And the Dems could have been in power when this bridge collapsed. Oh wait! He is in power.

While pointing out Molnau’s failures, he points out his own. If Molnau should go, then so should he. If there can be no confidence in Molnau, then how can we have confidence in Chair Murphy? He must accept responsibility for all bridges in Minnesota as part of the Transportation Committee.

Blaming is a childish game that the Dems have mastered. It diverts attention from one’s own failures to another. It appears to address the problem, satisfying the party base, but does little or nothing to correct the problem. It disheartens the very team that must solve the problem, while the jackals gnaw their political bones and the hyenas laugh with glee over the sacked teammate. Blamers don’t remember that what goes around, comes around.

Suddenly all the backlog of potential calamity is hyped because of one crisis. Dems make a crisis of a crisis in order to dig deeper into the taxpayer’s pockets. The next months will be filled with Democrats moaning about the need for billions in transportation dollars to get voters convinced to open their pocketbooks. Talk about creating a culture of fear!

We voters get disgusted that so many of our elected leaders are so childish and such fear-mongers. Quit pointing fingers. Get back to work. Do the job. Solve the problems and get the bridge replaced as a team. The new bridge will not be a Democrat bridge if it falls down. You can be sure of that!