A major bridge over the Mississippi River to downtown Minneapolis was closed for about three hours Wednesday while police checked a potential security threat in riverbank tunnels. Chief Robert Olson said the 3rd Avenue Bridge was closed after police found a broken padlock on a gate to a secure area of a hydroelectric plant near the bridge. He noted that homeless people often break into tunnels in the area. The bridge was closed as a precaution in light of current world events dominated by the threat of war with Iraq, and because tools not normally used by transients were used to cut, drill and pry the lock open, Olson said. The Stone Arch pedestrian bridge, which is downstream, also was closed. Both reopened about 1:30 p.m. Nothing was found to indicate a threat to public safety, and it wasn’t clear how long the lock had been broken, Olson said. Full Story
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