The executive summary of the 2001 Minnesota Department of Transportation report -- undertaken by the University of Minnesota's Department of Civil Engineering -- points to fatigue problems with the bridge's approach span, the segments that connect the main span of the bridge to land.

CNN: States warned to inspect bridges

The daughter of a PaineWebber managing director and a New York Post reporter, Sadik-Khan took Bloomberg's job offer after a stint in the U.S. Department of Transportation under President Clinton and ten years at international engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff.

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