Memorial Events Planned on Anniversary of Bridge Collapse, Paper Says

Several community events to be held Friday will mark the one-year anniversary of the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, the Star Tribune newspaper reported.

Memorial activities will include an interfaith prayer and memorial service at the Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak will speak at the service, the paper said.

Later in the day, there will be an outdoor memorial ceremony Gold Medal Park, near the bridge site. At 6:05 p.m. — the exact moment when the bridge collapsed —  a moment of silence will be observed, ending with bell-ringing across the city and state, the Star Tribune said.

One year ago, 13 people died in the collapse. 145 people were injured, the Associated Press reported.

There remains no official word on the cause of the collapse, AP said.

Meanwhile, in Washington, the House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would require states to update their highway bridge inspection standards and perform annual inspections of structurally deficient bridges.

The National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act of 2008 passed the House in late July by a vote of 367 to 55.

The bill would “increase the funding for states and the federal government to hire the necessary number of bridge inspectors to raise the standards, make those bridges safer and prevent future loss and future collapse,” said Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and sponsor of the bill.