Politics & Government

State Rep. to Dayton: Why Hire URS for Southwest LRT Work?

Fridley Rep. Tom Tillberry (DFL-51B) questioned a bid by the firm involved with faulty 35W and Sabo bridges.

Fridley Rep. Tom Tillberry (DFL-51B) sent a three-page letter to Gov. Mark Dayton this week to express his "serious concern" about a bid by an engineering firm, URS Corp., for a pending state contract for the Southwest Light Rail Transit project.

Tillberry noted that URS was involved with two faulty bridges in Minneapolis—inspecting the I-35W bridge before it fell and the Sabo bicycle bridge now closed for repairs.

In the April 24 letter, Tillberry asked Dayton to "do all you can to ensure that URS does not receive this contract."

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Tillberry included a personal note:

On August 1, 2007, the I-35W Bridge fell. My neighbor, Pat Holmes, was on the bridge. ... I, along with many other Minnesotans, lost a good friend ... Others lost fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, aunts, and uncles. I am sure that they would ask—as I do—what does a company have to do before we will cease to do business with them?

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(Click on the PDF to the right to read the entire letter.)

Tillberry co-authored legislation for a memorial to the 13 killed in the I-35W bridge collapse. in the and said in his letter that politics didn't play a part in his speaking out: 

As a retiring legislator, I don't have a horse in this race. The Southwest Light Rail Line wouldn't go through my district. My concern here is solely for the safety of the people of Minnesota.

"I just don't understand why somebody would be considering a company that has that track record," Tillberry told MPR.


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