Hiawatha "detours +++

Monday night I drove downtown from Hiawatha and noticed that the approach (7th Street?) is now two lanes. Still go no good signage on the barrels for the 35W-South ?394 exit or the the U of MN West Bank Washington Avenue bridge exit. I have to got to my dentist in Stadium Village Thursday and I plan to take the Franklin Avenue bridge because I can't figure out where the Washington Avenue Bridge exit is off Hiawatha. I have been driving this route for 25 years so it's not like I'm stupid.
I think that Mayor R.T Rybaks anti-car biase is coming out. First is the "light rail" on a replacement 35W bridge. I was thinking that out and perhaps if the bridge had arches there could be structural provisions for a LRT lanes in the level below the main deck. It would need dimensions much like the Minnehaha Park "tunnel" or half is split in two. That does not seem that difficult and industrial use of the railroad on the east bank will be eliminated in the near future.
Off subject, but another bridge over the Mississippi is the old railroad bridge now used as a pedestrian bridge by the U of MN. After going to the dentist I will check it out to see if it one or two track wide but it was built to heavy rail specs and seems in good condition. That's another Light Rail potential crossing point.
On the radio I heard a story of Mayor Ryback deciding to keep the 10th Avenue bridge closed out of "respect for the dead" and because it might be an investigative sight. This is nonsense. You can see as much from the opened Stone Arch bridge (or the evening news) and if the bridge is intact, what is there to investigate? They could close the "upstream" side bicycle land/sidewalk and enforce "no stopping on bridge" rules for cars and bicycles using the main bridge surface. This is a valuable traffic management asset being squandered.







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Mall of America parking after bridge collapse.

For specialty news on the bridge collaspe adaption the Mall of America is opening up the East ramp to commuter parking. The south end of the Light Rail is on the ground level of that ramp. It's way South of the River but it might help because a lot of people here are used to long cross-metro commutes. There are a lot of extra busses at shopping Malls at the North side of the town so this might provide some extra help. It will get "interesting" around Thanksgiving when the shopping malls need all their parking for the holiday shopping season.
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For specialty news on the bridge collapse adaption the Mall of America is opening up the East ramp to commuter parking. The south end of the Light Rail is on the ground level of that ramp. It's way South of the River but it might help because a lot of people here are used to long cross-metro commutes. There are a lot of extra busses at shopping Malls at the North side of the town so this might provide some extra help. It will get "interesting" around Thanksgiving when the shopping malls need all their parking for the holiday shopping season. The shopping malls are bus transit hubs so they might get it to work. Time will tell.
I have been focusing on the structural analysis. The "hinge" areas are out of the water and they found no progressive structural failure there. The "arch" is under water. That obviously failed but I'm still betting on the hinge pins seizing so the arch could not expand or contract. I'd guess that within a month they will have them removed and dissected. That's still my "pony" to "win" or at least "place" or "show".
So far I haven't heard about the "hinge pins" in the news. Even though I recall they once closed the entire bridge for a weekend to replace a seized hinge pins. It was maybe five or ten years ago. What they need is a laser measure, real time cell phone type reporting system for these bridge "hinges". If working right they should have a smooth "curve" of movement. I might "invent" one and post it on the bridge blog to time-stamp it. Essentially you have a laser and a mirror on two sides of the "hinge" with a bit of distance. Let's say ten feet and a typical Minnesota day night temperature drop of 20 degrees would make the thing flex say one inch. Heck, my ten dollar Harbor Freight laser measure can measure one hundredth of an inch at that distance. The can laser measure the mirrors left on the moon to within inches in distance and do so a couple of times a week. Obviously I bridge hinge unit would be more "robust" than my laser ruler but it would still be cheap.
The expansion/contraction "flex" should be a nice smooth "curve", not jagged. Data would be stored and periodically uploaded much like you would with a water temperature buoy. It would be easy to write a computer program that notes non-data or "jagged" hinge movement.
If it is the "hinges" it could be a larger problem in more arid areas. Beyond sand they can often have day-night temperature differences that are three to four times greater than we have here in Minnesota.
Like usual, I am technologically way over my head but that's the way I like it. I know how to research and I generally enjoy doing it.







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