NTSB will review closed Hwy. 23 bridge in St. Cloud

Last update: April 10, 2008 - 9:15 AM

The abrupt closure of the Hwy. 23 bridge in St. Cloud has attracted the interest of the National Transportation Safety Board, which will visit the bridge Wednesday.

In a news release Monday, the Minnesota Department of Transportation said that the NTSB "hopes to add to its body of knowledge regarding these types of bridges." The St. Cloud bridge, which was closed Thursday after an inspection found slight bending in four of its gusset plates, has a design similar to that of the Interstate 35W bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis on Aug. 1.

MnDOT said that crews are continuing to examine gusset plates on the Hwy. 23 bridge, which will remain closed to traffic and might never reopen if repairs aren't feasible.

Neither MnDOT nor the NTSB would comment Monday on recently released photographs that show bent gusset plates on the 35W bridge in 2003.

JIM FOTI AND TONY KENNEDY

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