Bush travels to bridge site

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Aug 5, 2007 | by Paul Lewis The Washington Post

MINNEAPOLIS-- President Bush used a tour of the collapsed Interstate 35W bridge Saturday to pledge responsibility for rebuilding the ruined structure, which he described as a "main artery of life" for residents of Minnesota's Twin Cities.

Standing in front of the crumpled concrete and twisted metal girders that once spanned the Mississippi River, Bush promised to "cut through" the bureaucracy and "see if we can't get this bridge rebuilt in a way that not only expedites the flow of traffic, but in a way that can stand the test of time."

"I make no promises on the timetable," Bush said. "I do promise that Mary Peters, the secretary of transportation, is going to be in charge of this project. I do promise she's going to listen to the local authorities to find out what the folks here need. I do promise that when she sees roadblocks and hurdles in the way of getting the job done, she'll do everything she can to eliminate them."

Peters has already requested an investigation into the federal bridge inspection program, and she told reporters Saturday that her department's inspector general would look at the prioritization of funds for bridge repairs. The Minnesota bridge had been classified as "structurally deficient" by the federal government since 1990.

Divers spent a third fruitless day searching for victims of a deadly bridge collapse, finding no bodies inside a crushed car pulled earlier Saturday from the murky Mississippi River waters. They planned to return to work today with sonar equipment to scan areas upriver and downriver.

The number of dead officially stands at five, and at least eight victims are believed trapped in the wreckage.

A detailed examination of the wreckage around the southern end of the bridge led investigators to conclude "that is probably not where the event began," said Mark Rosenker, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. The southern end shifted 81 feet during the collapse.

As a result, he said, investigators will use a helicopter mounted with a high-resolution camera -- equipment like that used by Hollywood film crews -- to look for points where the metal was cut, sheared or pulled on the northern end.

Rosenker also announced that the FBI had completed mapping the debris field, which will allow the state transportation department to begin removing cars from the fallen bridge's deck, as well as the deck itself.

Under police escort, families of the missing were bused Saturday from a Red Cross center to the disaster site. When the doors opened, about 40 people streamed out and went straight to the edge, a few with arms wrapped around each other's shoulders.

Most appeared silent, while a few pointed at the collapsed bridge. After no more than 10 minutes, they reboarded the buses, some hugging as they left to return to the temporary Red Cross center.

The missing include Christine Sacorafas, 45, a recent transplant to Minnesota who was on her way to teach a Greek folk dancing class; Greg Jolstad, 45, a construction worker who was operating a skid loader on the bridge; Peter Hausmann, 47, a former missionary heading to pick up a friend; and Somali immigrant Sadiya Sahal, 23, a pregnant nursing student traveling with her 2-year-old daughter, Hanah.

The president's assurance Saturday of federal action stood in contrast to his administration's response to disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the May tornado that wiped out Greensburg, Kan., when officials in Washington played down their responsibilities in the emergency and pointed instead to state agencies.

But the president struck a familiar tone when he met with rescue workers and civilians who responded to the bridge collapse, telling them he had been impressed by their compassion and instinct to help.

The meetings echoed visits he made earlier this year to Alabama and Georgia, where he consoled victims of tornadoes, and to Virginia Tech University, where he offered condolences and words of support to a devastated community after April's campus shootings.

Bush first toured the bridge site by air, his helicopter, Marine One, circling several times as Minnesota's Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty explained the scene to the president, officials said.

From above, the jagged slabs of the bridge buckled at every angle, looking as though the spans had melted and crumpled. Amid the rubble of metal and concrete, some vehicles sat eerily still and unharmed, while others, including a school bus, teetered precariously near the edge of the bridge.

Upon landing, Bush surveyed the ruins from a pier at a nearby lock. As he spoke to two Army Corps of Engineers lock workers who saw the bridge come down, the Mississippi River was disturbed by only the occasional air bubbles of two submerged divers, searching for bodies in the wreckage of vehicles.

Bush met with one of the divers participating in the recovery search, as well as with Red Cross personnel and first-responders. He posed for photographs and patted officials on the back. He also met with survivors of those killed in the collapse.