Washington Avenue Bridge: I Told You So (Well, Kind Of)

Photo By John Hoff

The talk of the U of M campus--but nowhere else--is the inconvenience caused by the current situation on the Washington Ave. Bridge. Currently...

...students have to walk a narrow, fenced in corridor within the EXACT MIDDLE of the bridge. Vehicular traffic on the lower level has been restricted to two lanes in the middle, as well. In my opinion, nobody is giving straight and detailed answers about what the precise concerns are with the middle of the bridge. (ADDENDUM: September 21, vehicular traffic on the bottom deck is no longer restricted to two lanes, making it seem like the upper pedestrian deck is now the only source of concern)

This might be a good time to mention how--a couple years ago, actually--I wrote an opinion column about the Washington Ave. Bridge suggesting a complete overhaul and renewal. This piece of writing comes from a particular time and context--it was kind of a follow up piece to some stuff I wrote about the need for SUICIDE BARRIERS on the bridge, which is only a stupid idea if you really don't have a subtle and professionally trained grasp of the phenomenon of "suicide bridges" and the subtle psychology of self-harm.

The column also reflects a sort of "internal debate" at the Minnesota Daily about whether opinion columnists should concentrate on local issues or blather on like experts about parts of the world they've never even freaking visited. Lord knows I have my opinions on that topic.

But where was I? Oh, yes, on the Washington Ave. Bridge.

In the column, I also mentioned paint the size of dinner plates flaking off. This column was written waaaaaay before the I-35W Bridge collapse and the huge increase in "bridge safety consciousness."

It might be too late, sometimes, to say "I love you" but it's never too late to say "I (expletive) told you so."

Well, kind of. The column doesn't actually say the Washington Ave. Bridge doesn't feel SAFE, particularly a rather creaky portion where it seems like you can hear the structure straining as traffic goes by below.

I didn't want to make the column too long or too alarmist. Darn it. If I'd been windy and alarmist, I'd be a preening prophet, right about now.