Bush vows to push for bridge reconstruction

Bush vows to push for bridge reconstruction
President tours disaster site, praises rescuers

The National Transportation Safety Board cleared Minnesota state and local officials to begin removing debris and wreckage later this weekend as divers looking in the Mississippi River for victims of a bridge collapse continued their search Saturday and pulled a crushed car out of the murky water.

Authorities said it was the only car they had found in which the passengers were unaccounted for. It wasn't immediately certain whether the vehicle contained any bodies, said Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek.

Workers can start removing other wrecked cars, concrete pieces of the deck and other parts of the bridge from the southern and center portions as early as Sunday, said NTSB chairman Mark Rosenker.

Rosenker said after Friday's review of the southern portion of the bridge, investigators do not believe the accident began on that side of the span. Safety board officials will focus on the northern part of the bridge on Sunday. But that review will be more difficult because when the northern portion fell, the bridge's superstructure pushed up. As a result, investigators do not have direct access to the bridge, Rosenker said.

Instead, they will use a helicopter with a high-resolution camera to photograph the deck and underside of the section for their review. Rosenker continued to emphasize that the investigation will be long and slow going.

"We continue to make progress, but these are small measures of progress," he said.

Divers searched the Mississippi River for victims of a bridge collapse for a third day Saturday, pausing periodically so crews could remove debris that stood in the way.

Families of the missing continued to wait for word that any bodies had been found in the murky waters.

Authorities initially said the dive had been suspended Saturday afternoon because of shifting debris in the river. Officials later said divers were being pulled from the water occasionally to assist National Transportation Safety Board investigators or give crews room to clear debris.

Dives would continue until the evening "unless the weather goes south on us," said Sgt. Tracey Martin, of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.

Earlier Saturday, President Bush said the collapsed I-35W bridge would be rebuilt "as quickly as possible."

He met on the banks of the Mississippi River with the rescuers, heroes and survivors of the Wednesday disaster. Before meeting with the group, Bush took a 10-minute tour of the site, circling several times by helicopter the mangled debris and concrete that remains of the bridge. He then donned an orange and red hard hat and reviewed the disaster area on foot.

The president said he would not make any promises on a timetable, but said Transportation Secretary Mary Peters would work to eliminate bureaucratic roadblocks. He praised government officials and rescue workers, but added that rescue and clean-up efforts are "going to take a while."

The collapse sent dozens of cars sliding in the Mississippi River, killing at least five people and injuring about 100 others. At least 28 people remain hospitalized, five of them in critical condition, officials said. Eight people are listed as missing.

Recovery efforts will continue for days, Richard Stanek said. There could be as many as 50 cars in the Mississippi River and divers have been hindered by low visibility and strong currents.

A handful of city residents on Saturday stood on overpasses near the collapsed bridge, photographing and videotaping the two helicopters that were carrying the president and other officials.

Nate Travis videotaped the scene with his three children in tow.

Pointing to his 5-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter, Travis said, "I'm not sure the kids understand what a historic day this is. That's why I'm videotaping it for them."

Bush devoted his weekly radio address to the collapse.

"I was shocked and saddened when I heard the news that the I-35 bridge gave way during rush hour," Bush said in the Saturday morning broadcast. The $5 million authorized for debris removal and to reroute traffic is "just the beginning" of federal financial aid, he added.

Congress already has approved $250 million in additional funding.

"In times of tragedy, our hearts ache for those who suffer, yet our hearts are also lifted by acts of courage and compassion," Bush said. "We saw those qualities in the residents of a nearby apartment building who rushed to the scene to offer their help. We saw them in the divers who fought the mighty currents of the Mississippi to reach victims. And we saw them in the firefighters who searched car to car for survivors."

The president praised Jeremy Hernandez, a staff member of a youth group who helped evacuate 60 children from a school bus that which dropped 20 feet when the bridge collapsed.

"Our country is fortunate to have brave and selfless citizens like Jeremy, and all those who risked their own safety to aid in the rescue," Bush said.

The transportation secretary defended the integrity of the nation's infrastructure and urged people to wait and see what exactly caused this particular collapse.

"Clearly this was not something that we expected to happen, given the history of this bridge, the inspection process, and how this bridge was rated," Peters said Saturday.

"But something happened, and it is clearly very, very important that we get not only to the bottom of what happened there, but also really look at the processes and the procedures by which we inspect and rate bridges, to make sure that we are doing everything we can to ensure America's infrastructure is safe."

Federal transportation officials have announced plans to investigate the agency responsible for inspecting highway bridges. The inspector general for the Transportation Department said the inquiry would focus on the Federal Highway Administration's inspection program and ways to improve the agency's oversight of more than 70,000 bridges that have been found structurally deficient.