Minneapolis to sue over water main break

The city of Minneapolis is heading to court to try to recover several hundred thousand dollars it spent after a contractor ruptured a water main and flooded part of downtown in 2013.

The city's legal claim will be "in the low six figures," said Peter Ginder, chief of the city attorney's civil division.

The claim will name developer Ryan Cos., subcontractors United Sewer and Water and Red Pederson Utilities, and possibly other defendants, according to a City Council measure approved Friday. They worked on the apartment and retail project at 222 Hennepin Ave., where the break occurred.

Council members made the decision after a closed-door meeting with attorneys. The pending lawsuit comes after more than a year of gathering claims and trying to negotiate with the contractors involved.

City officials said at the time that the actual rupture of the 3-foot-wide main was caused by a crawler hoe being operated by a Ryan subcontractor, United Sewer and Water.

The leak released an estimated 14 million gallons of water that flooded nearby streets, snarling traffic.

Businesses in the area were forced to close early for lack of water, while some businesses as far as a mile away saw their water supply temporarily curtailed. The Guthrie Theatre canceled a performance.

The City of Minneapolis and Hennepin County stand to share a $1.6 million settlement from the designer and builder of the faulty Martin Olav Sabo Bridge.

The City Council on Friday approved the bridge settlement contingent on similar action by the County Board, which reviews the terms on Tuesday.

The settlement results from negotiations with Sabo Bridge designer URS Corp. and contractor Ames Construction Inc. Terms call for URS to pay $1.2 million, and Ames and PDM Inc. to pay $400,000. The city gets $1.12 million and the county the balance.

The bridge was abruptly closed in February 2012 after the fracture of a steel anchor plate and the fall of one of the sets of cables that suspend the bridge deck. Another plate broke later, and engineers removed a second set of cables. The bridge reopened in June with temporary bracing. It was repaired later that year, and an analysis blamed the fractures on wind-caused vibrations. The money is to cover the cost of bracing the bridge, and analyzing the problem and correcting it, according to Ginder.

Steve Brandt • 612-673-4438