Major Bridge Collapse in Minneapolis, Minnesota... Many Injuries/Deaths Feared

This bridge project has probably been the biggest disaster and headache for MnDOT officials and residents that have to cross the bridge. It was opened in 1960 but at the time, 35W only went as far as MN-13, a little over a mile past the bridge on the south side. Residents called it "The bridge to nowhere." By 1980 with fast growing suburbs south of the river, the 4 lane freeway had famous traffic jams. In 1984, a 3rd lane was added to each side, and a year later, it was discovered that there was a subsoil problem under the bridge/freeway, and the new lanes remained closed until the mid-1990s when the state found the money to complete the project. And while the bridge cannot flood, the causeway leading to the crossing at the north end is quite low and has flooded. In 2001, officials had to build temporary dykes, closing a lane on each side of the freeway, to prevent the river from flooding the freeway and making it impassible.