Lessons for Baltimore: How Minneapolis recovered from its I-35W bridge collapse 17 years ago

The collapse of the the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday is unfortunately not the first deadly collapse of a major interstate bridge in the US. But the response to a bridge failure in Minneapolis 17 years ago, one of the most catastrophic bridge failures in recent memory, could serve as a roadmap for Baltimore moving forward.

On August 1, 2007, when cars were bumper to bumper in evening rush hour traffic along Interstate 35W in Minneapolis, the heavily trafficked, eight-lane bridge that spanned the Mississippi River suddenly failed and collapsed into...