Lawmaker skeptical on bridge report

The Interstate 35W bridge collapsed during the evening rush hour on Aug. 1, 2007, killing 13 people and injuring 145. (Associated Press file 2007)

MINNEAPOLIS - The chairman of the House Transportation Committee criticized federal investigators yesterday after a published report said they have determined an original design flaw is the most likely reason for the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators believe the bridge's original designers probably neglected to calculate the size of key gusset plates - devices that help connect steel beams - that eventually failed, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported.

Investigators also determined that corrosion of certain gusset plates, extreme heat, and shifting piers did not contribute to the bridge's collapse, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the probe.

Representative Jim Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat, was skeptical of earlier suggestions from the NTSB that gusset plate design was responsible for the bridge collapse, and yesterday held to that view.

A spokesman for the NTSB didn't immediately return a call.

ASSOCIATED PRESS