MnDOT Style

Mike Fratto worked for the state of Minnesota for more than 30 years. He did a lot, but he never built a bridge.

Which is why he was confused when a letter from the Minnesota Department of Transportation landed in his mailbox in the Payne Phalen neighborhood of St. Paul. The letter came from the Office of Data Practices Compliance and it started by shouting, in bold, capital letters: "NOTICE OF DUTY TO PRESERVE ALL DOCUMENTS OR DATA RELATING TO THE I-35W BRIDGE OR ANY OTHER MINNESOTA BRIDGE."

The notice covered any "evidence...that might be or become relevant to any litigation that may arise out of the collapse of the I-35W Bridge." The letter was dated September 21, 2007—one month after MnDOT had been told to preserve all Minnesota bridge documents and almost two months after the bridge collapsed into the Mississippi river.

Fratto's address was on the letter, but not his name. The intended recipient was Sampson Bros. Well Co., a business Fratto was sure had never kept an office in his house or its immediate vicinity.

"I've been in this neighborhood for 50 years," says Fratto. "The woman who sold me this house had been widowed and both of them worked for the railroad. I grew up a half mile from here."

Fratto has followed post-collapse developments closely. "These things were supposed to be ordered within days of the bridge collapse," he says. "I used to be a data practices coordinator of a state department and I guarantee if something like this had gone down, we would have had those notices out as soon as possible."

Sampson Bros. Well Co. could not be reached for comment.