Sat, May 17 2008
|
|
Published May 07, 2008 10:38 pm - The meeting Wednesday to muddle through the issues surrounding the County Road 147 bridge near Amboy was part town hall gathering and part brainstorm session. Bridge deliberations Officials, public ponder County Road 147 bridge Dan Linehan The Free Press AMBOY — The strategy: Get the officials together, give them some options, and then wait for a consensus to form. Oh, and the public gets to watch and chime in.
The meeting Wednesday to muddle through the issues surrounding the County Road 147 bridge near Amboy was part town hall gathering and part brainstorm session. The bridge’s best use from a historic and cultural standpoint — staying where it is, as unchanged as possible — stands at odds with its best use from a transportation perspective — gone and replaced with a functional bridge. Blue Earth County Engineer Al Forsberg emphasized the road’s potential use as a route for the implements, supplies and food that support the agricultural economy. He lacked hard figures to show how much the bridge would be used by farmers if it wasn’t off-limits to their heavy equipment, but said he was working on developing them. Dennis Gimmestad, with the State Historic Preservation Office, was the adviser on the best ways to preserve the bridge, built in 1901. He also questioned whether there was a need for a bridge here at all. If not, it could just be closed to all traffic and repaired only to keep from falling into the Blue Earth River. Farmers have apparently adjusted to not being able to use it, he argued, so it might not be absolutely necessary. Forsberg compared it with the Interstate 35W bridge collapse. Twin Cities motorists have adjusted, but will still see a benefit when it returns. Lynn Cole, a nearby farmer, told the group that he hauls grain to Amboy and a new bridge would keep him off Highway 30, to the north. “I could use the back roads and be more safe,” he said. For complete story, see the Thursday, May 8, 2008, print edition of The Free Press or sign onto our e-edition. Click here to access Free Press e-edition 
Click here to load this Caspio Bridge DataPage.
Click here to load this Caspio Bridge DataPage.
More from the Local News section
Area sales tax part of Legislative negotiation Friends taking part in breast cancer walk Cookbook proceeds benefit cancer foundation |
Print this story
E-mail this story
Post to del.icio.us
 |
 |
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
Copyright 2008 The Free Press, 418 South Second Street, Mankato, MN 56001 |
Popular Business directory links - Mankato Apartments | Mankato Attorneys | Mankato Auto Dealers | Mankato Auto Parts | Mankato Auto Repair | Mankato Beauty Salons | Mankato Car Rental | Mankato Dentists | Mankato Doctors | Mankato Flowers | Mankato Hotels | Mankato Insurance | Mankato Loans | Mankato Mortgages | Mankato Movers | Mankato Pizza | Mankato Realtors | Mankato Restaurants | Mankato Storage | Mankato Tax Preparation | Mankato Travel | Mankato Featured | More...
|
|
Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. • CNHI Classified Advertising Network • CNHI News Service 
|