Three open houses are scheduled.

• Tuesday, Aug. 28 at the McNamara Alumni Center on the (east bank) campus of the University of Minnesota from 4:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. The address is 200 Oak St., S.E. Minneapolis. The open house will be held in AI Johnson Room.
• Thursday, Aug. 30 at the Humphrey Institute Atrium (west bank) from 4:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. The open house will be held in the Atrium. The address is 301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis.
• •Wednesday, Sept. 5 at the IDS Center and the open house will be held in the Crystal Court from 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. The address is 80 South 8th St., Minneapolis.

Here are MnDOT’s requirements. Proposals from the design/construction teams are due September 10, and the builder will be selected by the end of the month.

From what I’ve read, the design/construction process is pretty concrete (so to speak), and engineers are expressing frustration over the strong desire of the public to have so much input. Seems like it’s bogged down in political process enough as it is. Although I’d rather see at least a token show of public inclusion than nothing at all.

I also read a comment somewhere that made a pretty good point: There are so many bridges across the river that are pretty looking bridges. This one doesn’t need to be a masterful work of art. This one is functional, not fashionable. So we needn’t worry ourselves too much over what it’s going to look like as long as it does what we want it to (like maybe having LRT service).

(via SW Journal)

Related posts:

1. 35W Bridge Collapse Open Thread
2. One last drive over the Lowry Avenue Bridge
3. 35W Bridge Lecture Series at the U
4. 35W Bridge: Link Roundup #2
5. The great bridge panic of 2007 continues.