Bill allowing distribution of I-35W bridge remnants passes Senate committee
Remnants of the collapsed Interstate 35W bridge would be allowed to be given to certain parts of the public, under a bill approved Friday by a state Senate committee.
The bill would allow the Minnesota Department of Transportation distribute steel from the collapsed I-35W bridge to the Minnesota Historical Society, the Minneapolis Fire Department and survivors of the bridge collapse.
Brent Olson, who was on the bridge when is collapsed in 2007, said he and others would like to keep a piece of the bridge to remember that day.
"Some want small ones just as a memento to put on a shelf. Some, a little larger piece," Olson said. "A doorstop or something. Just having it there."
Current state law requires the MnDOT to sell any salvaged steel from construction projects. The full Senate will now vote on the bill.
DFL Sen. Ron Latz of St. Louis Park said it is important to some people that the steel not be scrapped.
"Some of their survivors or their families would like to have some of it for their own private memorials or purposes to honor their loved ones or recognize the struggle that they had in recovering from this tragedy," Latz said.
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