Wizard Marks wrote:
> If, indeed, as Architect Louis B. Sullivan said (but didn't always practice),
"form ever follows function," then I would ask where is the disconnect? I'm of
the opinion that bridges should be handsome since one cannot avoid looking at
them. Thus the 35W bridge at Lake St. and the Hiawatha bridge at Lake St. are
truly awful, while the Hennepin Av. bridge over the river is very, very
nice--as it should be.
>
> I have no idea how much a bridge for walkers and bicyclists should cost, but
there is something off about the engineering if the cables are down while it's
so new. Remember Galloping Gertie (Tacoma Narrows Bridge) in Seattle? That one
could not come in under budget unless the engineers removed some of what was
necessary to keep the bridge up. So they removed the rocker cradles, a
necessity for the bridge to withstand the wind. And Gertie came down with a
crash four months after she opened on July 1, 1940. Luckily, the only life lost
was a dog, though, of course, the dog was someone's beloved pet.
>
> My question for the Sabo bridge is whether the designers skimped to come in
on budget? Bridges by their nature are spendy, so the measuring stick should
not be whether it's "artsy," but whether the cost was in line with the
requirements to keep it standing.
>
>
Mark Anderson:
Well it's certainly true that somebody screwed up. I have no opinions
on what went wrong, just that something did. As has been said, there is
no way it should have come down this soon. It fell so soon they can't
even blame it on maintenance. It seems to me it has to be either the
design or construction, or most likely, both. I guess I do have a bit
of an opinion.