To mark tomorrow’s opening of the new 35W bridge, here’s a picture that was handed out to the media and other attendees at Monday’s news conference on the bridge:

Information printed at the bottom described it as a photo taken Sept. 9, 2008, for Figg, the bridge engineering firm. (Above is a photo I took of the handout.)

For comparison, here’s a photo I took at 4:25 p.m. yesterday, Sept. 16:

Hmm. Aside from the late-afternoon lighting, something looks a little… different. Perhaps some of the paint already fell off and they were repainting? Perhaps the bridge traveled backward through time? Roadguy is a bit confused — but not as confused as he’s going to be tomorrow when his alarm goes off at 4 a.m.

You might remember Roadguy’s “welcome to work” pothole from a few months back. A few weeks after the post, the city filled in the hole, and the next day, I was reassigned to a new parking lot.

My new space is a bit harder to get to but closer to the front door of headquarters, so it’s been something of a wash in terms of how much time my overall home-to-desk commute takes. One thing that hasn’t changed is the quality of the pavement. Last week, this appeared in the middle of the first aisle:

Apparently the massive weight of the traffic cone is too much for the asphalt. Gives great confidence that it can hold up my car. The next time you don’t hear from me for a few days, you’ll know where to look: the Abyss of Parking Lot A.

As you’re probably aware, Roadguy hasn’t been spending much time in front of his BlogTron 3000 (props to old pal Batgirl for that term) this summer. But last week, he did head out on a micro-road trip to… um… somewhere. Let’s see if we can’t refresh our memory with a check of the overhead freeway signs:

Er, that’s not much help. (Maybe they’re still trying to decide between Clearview and the current font.)

Ah, here, this one’s better:

Yes, Stillwater, that’s it.

Roadguy took the scenic route, which included…

… the Maryland Avenue Bridge of Doom, which was keeping its concrete to itself that day. We also passed…

… which is in, of course, Hugo. No hunchbacks or cathedrals were spotted.

Once in Stillwater, Roadguy noted that even the price of parking has a small-town feel …

… and the guy who raises the lift bridge has his own spot:

The bridge itself looks O.K. from a distance:

Up close is another story. There’s rust…

… and if you look carefully, you can detect a slight bend where a too-tall truck crashed into some beams earlier this summer:

The bridge also has this sign:

(Roadguy confession: Many years ago, with the consent of a friendly tender, I once stayed on the bridge — the lift part — as it was raised for a small boat.)

Of course, who even needs a bridge to cross the mighty St. Croix River when you’ve got boats, except that the fuel …

… is even more expensive than gas for the car. Then again, you can always travel under human power:

(Yes, Stillwater is the Venice of Washington County.)

Finally, this vehicle, spotted at a marina, combines the best of both worlds:

A car-boat, for all your transportation needs. Stillwater has it all.

Interstate 35W Bridge, 3:50 p.m. Tuesday. (Click once or twice for larger view)

Roadguy was out of town over the holiday weekend, but I still wanted to check out the almost-closed gap in the new bridge. Late afternoon wasn’t the best time for photos because the views from the 10th Avenue Bridge are sort of backlit, but in person it was worth seeing. In coming days, the gap will be filled with wooden forms so that the final piece can be poured, so if you’re gap-curious, now is the time to check it out.

I also went upriver, to another notable riverfront cantilever, to take in the view from there:

(If only all our bridges never ended. Alas.)

Compared with the one that collapsed, the new 35W bridge will allow better views of the arches of the 10th Avenue Bridge:

The view will be further improved once all the construction equipment is gone — and that will be mighty soon.

It’s apparently “long form” week here at Roadguy: A correspondent we’ll call Busboy offers us the following 1,300 words about his recent switch to the bus. Check it out, and share your thoughts below.

ALONG FOR THE RIDE

I am 8:49 a.m. attractive: Guys with white t-shirts tucked into khakis.

The earlier you ride the city bus, the more attractive the passengers. I make the cut close to 9 a.m., when I should already be sitting at my desk slouching towards spinal deformity, pecking at my keyboard and menacing sources over the phone. This is one of the many startling lessons I’m learning as a newly christened bus rider. I didn’t particularly like this lesson in vanity, but I certainly couldn’t ignore it either.

I became a bus rider on Friday the 13th when a commercial-size van drove full-speed into the rear end of my 2000 silver Honda Civic about 11 a.m., crushing the trunk flush with the backseat. I knew deep in my heart that the $10,725 car I paid off last October was headed to the big parking lot in the sky, but I dutifully plucked a banana from the shards of glass and strewn miscellany and threw it into a nearby trash can. I didn’t want it smelling like rotten fruit. That’s how much I loved my car. Goodbye, dear friend.

That first Monday post-crash I enthusiastically prepared for my life as a mass-transit taker. I awoke at 7:30 a.m. and was aboard the Number 6 bus by 8:25 a.m., just about the time I usually dragged my carcass out of bed for the breezy 8-minute drive to work. I figured that 35 minutes was plenty of time to get downtown and walk six blocks to the office.

I was starting a new life. I was going to up the ante on my eco-friendliness. I plunked eight quarters into the farebox as savvier riders swiped magical cards past a magical device. Note to self: Get a card and save yourself the manic search for change every morning and the unsightly bulge in your pocket. I took the transfer ticket, knowing full well I wouldn’t use it. A memento by which to remember the dawn of my new life, I thought as I slipped it into my back pocket.

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This morning, some folks from MN2020 held a news conference at the closed Lowry Avenue Bridge to release the results of a survey of the state’s county engineers, who are worried about funding for deteriorating roads. The full report is available here.

While the think-tankers were sharing their thoughts, Roadguy was quite surprised to see this:

Yes, these pedestrians went over the barricades to cross the bridge. (Click to enlarge to see whether it’s anyone you know.) I also took a picture of how they did it, but I’m keeping that to myself — we don’t want to give alert reader Bonnie, who misses walking her dog across the bridge, any ideas.

It’s not good to have pedestrians on an unsafe bridge, but do we really want to resort to razor wire and 24-hour guards? Share any thoughts or ideas below.