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State complies with federal bridge inspection order

August 3, 2007 By

Hoan Bridge, Milwaukee Federal transportation officials want states to inspect all bridges that are similar to the one that collapsed in Minneapolis. Wisconsin will comply.

Wisconsin's chief bridge engineer Finn Hubbard says there are sixteen deck-truss design bridges in the state that will be inspected right away and once they know what happened in Minneapolis they'll take a second look if any specific design problems are cited.

There are also twenty-one hundred bridges in the state that are listed as structurally deficient by federal standards. But Hubbard insists that doesn't mean they are unsafe.

Hubbard says a deficient bridge usually means there is some work they want to do on it in the future or handle by changing weight limits for vehicles using the bridge.

But Hubbard says motorists should feel confident that bridges are safe and can be used without worry.

AUDIO: Jim Dick reports ( :50 MP3 )

Filed Under: Top Story, Transportation

Conference committee takes on Healthy Wisconsin

August 3, 2007 By

During Thursday's conference committee hearing, Democrats defended the Healthy Wisconsin plan included in the Senate budget. State Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) says Wisconsin has quality health care, people just can't afford it.

But Republicans continued to question the proposal, with Assembly Majority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald calling it a $15 billion tax increase.

Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch (R-West Salem) says a government-run health care system isn't the answer to rising costs. The Speaker says government is the leading cause of rising costs for health care, since state and federal programs drive down costs, and then don't fully pay for those benefits.

Huebsch presented a Republican proposal that would allow the public to make their own health care decisions. That plan includes Health Savings Accounts and the elimination of state sick leave benefits for elected officials.

However, Senator Erpenbach says the GOP plan won't solve the problem of unaffordable health care. Erpenbach says Democrats have offered a plan and detailed how to pay for it. He criticized the GOP for offering a plan that relies on Health Savings Accounts. The Middleton Democrat compared that concept to making health care a "luxury item."

After nearly three hours of debate, Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson (D-Beloit) called a halt, but made it clear Democrats aren't giving up on Healthy Wisconsin easily.

The budget conference committee is set to meet again next week, on Wednesday and Thursday. 

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (MP3 2:01)

Filed Under: Budget, Politics & Government, Top Story

Are Wisconsin bridges safe?

August 3, 2007 By

The question for Finn Hubbard, the DOT's chief bridge engineer was simple. Are Wisconsin bridges safe?

Hubbard says they are. Bridges are inspected every two years. Some more often than that.

But early reports say the Minneapolis bridge was inspected in 2005 and problems were found. Not enough to close the bridge however. Is that possible in Wisconsin?

Hubbard says when problems are found they're fixed as soon as possible and they move on.

And what about the bridges that connect Wisconsin with Minnesota or Iowa across the Mississippi?

Hubbard says every year inspection teams from the two states involved check the crossing bridges to see if anything needs to be fixed. Hubbard says repairs, if needed, are made within a year and the two states split the cost.

Hubbard says there haven't been any fatal bridge collapses in recent Wisconsin history. The worst situation was the Hoan Bridge in Milwaukee back in December of 2000 when major cracks were found. Hubbard says the bridge was closed for several months while repairs were made.

Hubbard says the DOT has complete confidence in state bridges and motorists should too.

AUDIO: Jim Dick reports ( 1:06 MP3 )

Filed Under: Transportation
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