Memorial events today will mark bridge collapse

Brian Peterson, Star Tribune file

Collapsed sections of the Interstate Hwy. 35W bridge in and next to the Mississippi River on Aug. 1, 2007.

A mural created by children who were on the school bus that went down with the bridge will be part of today's program.

Star Tribune

Last update: August 1, 2008 - 5:22 AM

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Several community events will mark the one-year anniversary of the I-35W bridge collapse today.

A bridge theme created by the 52 children who were on the school bus that went down with the bridge will be unveiled on the front of the Intermedia Arts building in south Minneapolis.

"They have been working on it for a few weeks," said Molly Schwartz, a spokeswoman for Pillsbury United Communities, the nonprofit neighborhood network organization that has been helping coordinate the work on the mural. The mural, titled "Building Bridges, Not Fences," will remain on the Lyndale Avenue building for a year.

A memorial to the bridge victims is still in the early planning stages, with relatives of those killed and survivors of the collapse leading the process, said Jeremy Hanson, spokesman for Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak.

Hanson said that there is no real timeline for the memorial and that few decisions had been made -- other than that the survivors don't want the memorial to be on, under or part of the new bridge.

AMONG FRIDAY'S EVENTS:

• Interfaith prayer and memorial service: 11 a.m. to noon at the Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis, including reflections from Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and Methodist Bishop Sally Dyck, president of the Minnesota Council of Churches.

• Outdoor memorial ceremony: 4:30 to 6:15 p.m. at Gold Medal Park, at 10th Avenue and S. 2nd Street, near the bridge site. At 5:30 p.m., a short public procession will be led by first responders and community leaders to a viewing area. At 6:05 p.m. -- the moment when the bridge collapsed -- a moment of silence will be observed, ending with bell-ringing across the city and state.

Metro Transit is offering free rides on buses and light rail to the ceremony. The rides will be offered from 2 to 7:30 p.m.; visit www.metrotransit.org for a pass.

Also, attendees can park and ride Metro Transit for free from the lots at I-35W and Industrial Boulevard and from Dunwoody College of Technology. For details, call 612-373-3333.

PAUL WALSH

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