It’s becoming clear that the collapse of the I-35W bridge was not a once-in-a-lifetime freak accident. It’s becoming more and more clear that the calamity could have been prevented.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Lt. Gov. and MnDOT Commissioner Carol Molnau must come to that realization and act accordingly to rectify policies for which they’ve been responsible.

A MnDOT report shows that the agency came to realize the deficiencies in the bridge were so serious that the agency last winter considered bolting steel plates to the bridge to prevent cracking in what was described as “fatigued” metal, according to a story in Friday’s Star Tribune.

A consultant recommended either a more complete repair throughout the bridge or stepping up inspection of the bridge and bolting steel plates to the sections that needed shoring up. MnDOT decided against the steel plates, worried that drilling bolt holes into various sections of the bridge might weaken an already deficient structure.

The agency decided to step up inspections of the bridge. That started in May but were apparently interrupted by work on the bridge’s roadway surface. It seems the agency moved too slowly given the severity of the situation. It knew in the winter about the deficiencies and potential risk but didn’t start inspections until May. And then those inspections were interrupted by surface work.

More troubling are reports from construction industry officials who say there were others within the agency who were arguing in an “emotional debate” about the bridge’s safety.

The official told the Star Tribune: “There were people over there that were deathly afraid that this kind of tragedy was going to be visited on us. There were people in the department that were screaming to have these replaced. MnDOT has been trying to move these ‘fracture critical’ bridges up in their [budget] sequencing so something like this wouldn’t happen.”

Chief MnDOT bridge engineer Dan Dorgan said if there was forceful opposition to the MnDOT plan, it was not voiced.

Officials also say that financial decisions or state budget concerns had nothing to do with not authorizing the money to adequately repair the bridge. But a 2004 MnDOT report on the bridge replacement schedule for the state showed the I-35W bridge was one of the worst of all metro area bridges in terms of its sufficiency rating. If money wasn’t a problem, what was the problem with fixing one of the worst bridges in the metro area?

It ranked a 50 on a scale of 0 to 100. The scary part: Seven other bridges in the metro area actually have a lower rating, according to the 2004 report. Those bridges were scheduled for replacement between 2008 and 2014.

MnDOT has not been meeting its goal for bridge maintenance since at least 1997. MnDOT hasn’t even come close to the goal of having only 2 percent of bridges in poor condition. Since 1998, the level of poor bridges has been twice as high as MnDot’s goal, reaching 4.4 percent in 2002 to 3.6 percent in 2006.

The goal for having bridges in “good” condition has actually been reduced from 65 percent to 58 percent, according to MnDOT’s own reports.

MnDOT officials, of course, can’t rectify these deficiencies without money. Authorizing money is up to the governor and the Legislature. But it’s clear that both have had enough information for years to know certain critical needs were not being funded.

It’s a pity it took a disaster to pay attention to our infrastructure. We owe it to those who died to put aside politics and get a true funding mechanism in place to speed up repairs to our faltering roads and bridges. And do it fast.