Read all of this one as they don’t get around to mentioning until page two that there were no new cracks after 2001 and that expert opinions about the urgency of repairs diverged. But even with that caveat, and even knowing as we already do that the bridge had been rated structurally deficient, this is amazing:

State bridge inspectors warned for nearly a decade before its collapse that the Interstate 35W bridge had “severe” and “extensive” corrosion of its beams and trusses, “widespread cracking” in spans and missing or broken bolts.

Not only was the superstructure in poor condition, but certain components were “beyond tolerable limits,” and one of the bridge’s piers had “tilted to the north,” they reported.

By 2000, the inspectors wrote that “eventual replacement of the entire structure would be preferable” to redecking the bridge. They added: “If bridge replacement is significantly delayed, the bridge should be re-decked.”

That recommendation was repeated in every report afterward, but it never happened.

Tim Pawlenty’s defense is that no one ever recommended closing the bridge. True, but follow the link and see what the inspectors had to say about “immediate maintenance recommendations.”