Have changes brought a new day at MnDOT?

One year after the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, the Minnesota Department of Transportation has new leaders, new money and a newfound decisiveness when it comes to fixing potentially unsafe bridges.

For much of the past year, it also has tried to focus all eyes on the new bridge that will soon open at the site of last August's tragedy, giving frequent updates on the bridge's ahead-of-schedule progress.

MnDOT came under unprecedented criticism after the collapse, with legislative investigations repeatedly raising questions about whether it was letting the state's transportation network fall apart. Lawmakers ultimately took the agency's future into their own hands, removing Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau as transportation commissioner and overriding Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto to give the agency the revenue of a higher gas tax.

While the agency's new leader, Commissioner Tom Sorel, acknowledges a need to restore trust, there are lingering doubts about whether it's really a new day for MnDOT.

"I think it remains to be seen whether or not MnDOT is really addressing some of its fundamental culture," said Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis. MnDOT, he said, was still "trying hard to create a political spin that holds them completely blameless and harmless" for the bridge collapse.

Former Gov. Arne Carlson -- like Pawlenty, a Republican -- said MnDOT is still effectively controlled by a governor concerned with shielding himself from blame.

Senate Minority Leader David Senjem, R-Rochester, said that Sorel, who has been widely praised since taking over the department in April, could end up being swallowed by the agency's legendary bureaucracy.

Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung dismissed that criticism, saying the governor has "encouraged [Sorel] to run MnDOT as a professional and nonpolitical organization.''

Others see MnDOT as having come a long way in a year.

"I think it's a much more responsive agency," said Sen. Kathy Saltzman, DFL-Woodbury, a frequent MnDOT critic. "It's not quite a love fest, but I think that I feel much more confident today."

For many, the departure of Molnau remains a turning point. She had been dogged by questions about why MnDOT did not move aggressively to fix problems with the 35W bridge, and what many perceived to be a combative style and lack of accessibility after the collapse helped make her a target. The agency also was embarrassed by revelations that MnDOT's emergency management director, who was out of town when the bridge fell, took 10 days to return to Minnesota.

Sorel's arrival was a marked contrast. Nearly 500 employees packed a MnDOT cafeteria in May for a meet-and-greet with the agency's new leadership team.

Sorel, whose low-key style is seen by many as having a calming effect on the agency, has tried to push along a new attitude. When he recently released a new table of organization for MnDOT, Sorel placed the "Citizens of Minnesota" at the top, above his own name. And with both Sorel and Khani Sahebjam, MnDOT's new assistant commissioner, having engineering backgrounds, the criticisms that MnDOT was being led by a politician -- Molnau -- have been quieted.

Soon after the DFL-led Legislature passed a $6.6 billion transportation funding bill over Pawlenty's veto and removed Molnau in late February, the agency moved aggressively to close aging bridges where infrastructure problems were found. In quick succession, MnDOT closed bridges in St. Cloud and Winona when inspectors spotted potentially faulty gusset plates -- the same steel connectors that may have played a role in the 35W bridge collapse.

The infusion of funds from the higher gas tax created a delicate situation for MnDOT. If leaders were rejoicing, they couldn't show it -- their boss had tried to block the money. Instead, they've calmly talked about following the will of the Legislature, as well as trying to manage public expectations about how far the money will -- and won't -- go. Much of it will be spent on preserving existing roads and bridges, with little left for some long-sought highway expansions.

Sahebjam's comments at a May 29 forum on infrastructure illustrate what has not changed and the fine line that MnDOT employees continue to walk.

"Every administration has done many good things," he said. "I'll say the same thing about Lt. Gov. Molnau. She does a lot of a great things."

Some still see MnDOT as quick to dodge responsibility for the collapse and slow to acknowledge the lessons that need to be learned. Last month, many lawmakers felt the agency was overly defensive in its response to the results of an investigation into the collapse ordered by the Legislature.

While Sorel said MnDOT welcomed many of the findings, he disagreed that the agency failed to follow the advice of its consultants on the 35W bridge or that a lack of funding played a role in failing to aggressively address the bridge's problems.

Sorel also repeated -- as has Pawlenty -- that no conclusions about why the bridge collapsed should be reached until the National Transportation Safety Board concludes the official probe later this year.

"It was written on MnDOT letterhead, but significant portions of that were written by the governor's office," said Rep. Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, referring to Sorel's comments. While MnDOT more recently has seen the Legislature as a "partner," she said, "the governor's office sees the Legislature as an adversary."

Carlson, who has frequently clashed with Pawlenty, agreed. "Why is the focus on MnDOT?" he said. "That would be like focusing [blame for] the Iraq war on the Defense Department. ... [You should] always go to the CEO -- in this case, the governor's office."

Pawlenty spokesman McClung called such comments "disappointing.'' He said the DFL and its allies "continue to politicize the bridge tragedy to advance their political agendas."

"We hope critics will keep in mind that the NTSB's preliminary analysis of the bridge collapse points to an original design flaw and excess weight as likely causes," McClung added.

Senjem, the Senate minority leader, said he had reasons to be skeptical about whether MnDOT can change. He said that simply changing leaders -- Senjem still supports Molnau and said that "she's not responsible for the bridge falling" -- is not enough.

"It's a culture unto itself," he said. "Time will tell whether [Sorel] will exert leadership on the agency or simply be part of the bureaucracy."

mkaszuba@startribune.com • 612-673-4388 foti@startribune.com • 612-673-4491