Bush Tours Bridge Site As Search Goes On

5 Confirmed Dead; Authorities Say Slow Traffic Helped Keep Death Toll Low

(CBS/AP)  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. Later, they said divers were being pulled out of the water occasionally so crews could remove debris or to assist National Transportation Safety Board investigators.

"Diving operations are continuing, and they will continue until tonight unless the weather goes south on us," said Sgt. Tracey Martin of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.

The number of dead stood at five as new details emerged about the eight or more victims believed trapped in the wreckage.

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.

Families of the missing gathered in a Red Cross center that was moved Saturday to a classroom at Augsburg College. With the search so far yielding no victims, the families have grown more distressed but have also turned to one another for comfort, sharing photographs and stories about their relatives.

"They've just been waiting for word, any kind of word," Red Cross spokesman Ted Canova said.

Of the roughly 100 injured, 24 remained hospitalized Saturday, five in critical condition.

President Bush took an aerial tour of the damage Saturday morning, then went to the scene to speak with a construction worker who helped rescue children. After walking around the site, Bush went to a makeshift command post where he spoke with the families of two victims, as well as first responders and rescue workers.

Bush praised the divers and all those who rushed to help victims of Wednesday's collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge, a major Twin Cities artery.

"There's a lot of people here in the Twin Cities whose first instinct was to save the lives of people who were hurting," Bush said.

The president pledged to help cut the red tape to reconstruct the bridge, but could not promise how quickly the project would take place. The eight-lane bridge, which came tumbling down in just seconds during evening rush hour, once carried 141,000 vehicles a day.

A memorial service with songs and prayers for the victims was set for 7 p.m. Sunday. Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak encouraged Minnesotans to attend and honor the families and first responders.

The Minnesota Orchestra and other musicians were scheduled to perform, and any money raised will be distributed to victims' families.

Minnesota's legislative leaders began putting lawmakers on standby for a post-Labor Day special session. Pawlenty, in a huge political concession, announced he is willing to reverse his longstanding opposition to a state gas tax increase.

Pawlenty said that he hopes lawmakers will agree to his ideas for funding road and bridge repairs but that details had not yet been worked out. The state's gas tax has stood at 20 cents per gallon since 1988.

State transportation officials said Saturday that they have hired the New York-based Parsons Brinckerhoff engineering firm as the consultant to review MnDOT's bridge inspection protocols. Parsons will also assist in speedier inspections of Minnesota bridges.

The state also said it would begin seeking contractors interested in joining the effort to rebuild the bridge.

In the investigation of the collapse, attention has turned to determining why part of the bridge shifted as it collapsed. It was the only part that shifted, and it could help pinpoint the cause.

Once all the bodies are removed, the National Transportation and Safety Board will collect and reassemble portions of the collapsed bridge in an old river bed downstream, reports CBS News correspondent Byron Pitts.

The bridge was deemed "structurally deficient" by the federal government as far back as 1990, and inspections over the years had raised alarm, with findings of rust-eaten steel beams, missing bolts and cracks in the welding that held load-bearing parts together.

---

2005 Report Card For America's Infrastructure (4 mb.)
American Society of Civil Engineers

---

A consulting company noted that one possible fix — steel plating of fractures — carried a "relatively high cost," according to a January report. Transportation officials deny that cost pressures swayed their decisions.

State bridge engineer Dan Dorgan said he made the final decision to monitor the bridge's weaknesses through regular inspections but not take more drastic measures, such as bolstering the trusses with steel plates, which he feared could have worsened the structural problems. His staff and consultants ultimately backed that call, he said.

Repairs over the years included bolting and welding on braces, shooting concrete into cracks and patching over crumbling concrete.

After the collapse, federal officials ordered states to immediately inspect bridges of similar designs. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said Saturday that those inspections hadn't found any immediate problems.

[gkc99]

Tim Pawlenty, Republican governor of Minnesota, was elected with the help of a last minute, under the radar screen donation of hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Texas Smear Boat boss. He has cut many budgets in the state, although he has no problem with spending public money to build a new Twins stadium for Carl Pohldad, one of the richest men in Minnesota. No money from him to upgrade this bridge, one of the worst in the USA according to reports.

George Bush, Republican president of the USA, although increasing the national debt by over 50% in 6 years and providing massive tax cuts to billionaries. No money from Bush to upgrade the bridge.

The Republican Congress can spend millions and millions of dollars to build the "bridge to nowhere" on a remote Alaska island, as the Republican senator wanted the pork, but they have no money to repair a bridge that takes 140,000 persons per day.

Is there a common theme here--neglect of our infrastructure, while paying off the rich campaign donors? A pattern of negligence and corruption?

You betcha!

[gunownerdan]

The money we have spent in Iraq so far is enough to rebuild every single bridge in America and more.

[processor2]

CBS headline: "Bridge Labeled "Deficient" Since 1990"

Let's see...who was president in the 1990's

Hmmmmmmmmm???

..

[robertr121]

Is there a common theme here--neglect of our infrastructure, while paying off the rich campaign donors? A pattern of negligence and corruption?

You betcha!
Posted by gkc99 at 08:08 AM : Aug 03, 2007


You forgot the biggest govt. cash hog of them all, the war in Iraq.

[gkc99]

"Let's see...who was president in the 1990's
Hmmmmmmmmm???"--Posted by processor2

1980-1988 Ronald Reagan
1988-1992 George Bushyit the Elder

Duuuhhhhh!

But, moron, it's not who was President when it was built--it was fine then. It has to do with who has been President, and in control of Congress, recently, when the bridge has needed maintenance.

Yes, the bridge to nowhere in Alaska is just peachy with pork-barrel Repubs. But fix one we got?

NAAAAAA!

[family2007-2009]

Referencing Katie Couric's commentary from yesterday evening:

This issue has presumably gone unchecked over at least the last TWENTY to THIRTY years, when members of both parties were heads of State, when control of Congress went between both parties.

Same on you, Katie, for using this to make political cheap shots at a particular administration. Especially shame on you, Katie, for doing so at a time when people are still attempting to grapple with the loss of their loved ones. That was in awfully poor taste.

[toldyouso21]

Americans have this not so endearing habit of thinking if a thing is always standing, always there, it always will be. Of presuming that if we want to "give people freedom and Democracy" and if we need to bomb, kill, maim, torture, detain, invade and occupy them to do so--that such acts will be okay with them. That if our transportation systems are attacked by terrorist to harm us, that the transportation system (read airplane) will be the way they always attack us in the future. That if we see something on television news, it must be true, and that elected officials are just one ray short of holy and cannot lie or make huge mistakes or misuse power. Repeatedly. Wilfully. Perhaps even maliciously.

This flaw in our psyche is not just born of naivety or gullibility---it is also borne of a eternal hope, that ultimately good wins and deep down we and our country are the good guys. But the flaw in our thinking is that we fail to see that "good guys" is a relative term based on perspective. One man's calvary are another group's grim reapers. One country's version of democracy can be another country's catalyst for mayhem and destruction. This bridge was a preventable tragedy. But it would have taken those who could see beyond the belief of what it used to be and could accept the ramifications of what it could become. In a way, it is also a metaphor for America. see next post

[toldyouso21]

We are a young country, not mature enough or experienced enough or well read enough to understand, that the good guys are not always good--and that they do not always win. We blithely believe in America's divine right to rule and be on top--so much so, that as our reputation, credibility and faith in ourselves wavers or cracks, we don't bother to tear down and really do the hard work of repairing our country--we just amble along--convinced, since we were a certain way--we will always be that way. So who among us will be prepared when the bottom drops out?

[toldyouso21]

CBS headline: "Bridge Labeled "Deficient" Since 1990"

Let's see...who was president in the 1990's

Hmmmmmmmmm??? Posted by processor2 at 08:22 AM : Aug 03, 2007

You cannot be that stupid. Bridge's within a state's infrastructure are state matters not federal, but if you insist--we will play. Who was President in the 90's? Well...in 1990, 1991. 1992--when the bridge problems should have been duly noted and projects initiated--that would have been George Bush Sr. Later, the Job was Clinton's. But here is where we must depart from the blame game. Neither Bush or Clinton can be held responsible in any way for this. The fact is, no President has the authority to micromanage or second guess states and indeed even for catastrophes--help must be requested by the leaders of that state, evaluated by Federal org, then the President can declare something a disaster area on a national level--at the point of that declaration, the onus falls on both state and federal to fix the issue.

Which brings to mind Katrina and the aftermath. Plenty of blame to go around, but the reality is, that Minneapolis and Federal response should get in line. We clean up our earlier debacles first, the criticality of each state's emergency should make all of us work faster and better just to clear out the backlog.

[fairandbal]

Katie Couric is squarely in the GOP-neocon camp. Right up there with Rush Limbaugh, just a little more discreet because she wants to be on a 'national news program' rather than cheap shot talk radio program.

[mcvet]

CBS headline: "Bridge Labeled "Deficient" Since 1990"

Let's see...who was president in the 1990's

Hmmmmmmmmm???

..

Posted by processor2 at 08:22 AM : Aug 03, 20

Wow! They say wearing a Swastika cause's you to be stupid... how many do you have on sparky? You don't even know you was prez in 1990? I think he had the same last name as the Southern Fascist we presently have. The problem isn't who was President but what has been our Governments goals and methods... The Government has been run for the most part, especially Congress, during that period by Southern Fascist and everyone knows they could care less about a few people dying on a bridge... Gotta have those Budget cuts, cutting Inspectors and Road funds... gotta have those Tax Cuts for the rich and run up that debt. Sieg Heil BUSH!!

[infidel_us]

no President has the authority to micromanage or second guess states and indeed even for catastrophes--help must be requested by the leaders of that state, evaluated by Federal org, then the President can declare something a disaster area on a national level--Posted by toldyouso21 at 08:52 AM : Aug 03, 2007

FINALLY! A voice of reason and intelligence in a blog full of Bush hating, bedwetting whiners!

[bareemperor]

A properly maintained bridge will last generations.
This did not have to happen.
Let's be sure it does not happen again.

Priorities....

[jpd1167]

So everything that goes wrong in this country is Bush's fault? You people need help.

[aaabee-2009]

So everything that goes wrong in this country is Bush's fault? You people need help.
Posted by jpd1167 at 09:19 AM : Aug 03, 2007

No, everything that goes wrong in this country is the liberals fault. Haven't you been paying attention for the past 10 years?

[infidel_us]

No, everything that goes wrong in this country is the liberals fault. Haven't you been paying attention for the past 10 years?
Posted by AaaBee at 09:25 AM : Aug 03, 2007

No, but I've been paying attention for the last 25 years. And I can assure you that liberal politicians and activist judges have done more to erode the United States than all the terrorists have done in the last 10 years.

[nolalou]

toldyouso21,

In this case it was in interstate bridge, so I believe there is also federal control by the Department of Transportation, ie: federal dollars appropriated by congress for road & bridge maintenance, inspections, etc. After all, that Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska is funded by the federal goverment, not the state! (due to that crook Senator Ted Stevens influence).

While it this case, there is probably plenty of blame to go around, the feds are not blameless, since the Bush administration would rather spend our tax dollars rebuilding the infrastructure in Iraq than taking care of our needs here at home.

[processor2]

CBS headline: "Bridge Labeled "Deficient" Since 1990"

Let's see...who was president in the 1990's

Hmmmmmmmmm???

..


HEY, JUST THINKING LIKE A LIBERAL

.

[adventurepa]

The amount of money we have spent in Iraq and not on America is mind- numbing.

How many bridges could that money have paid to be fixed?
How many highway projects could that have funded?
How many jobs could that money have created?
How many school books could that money have purchased?

It's time to support our own in America.
No more foreign money.
No more Iraq money.
When is enough- Enough?

[mike71067]

"Structurally deficient in the 1990's". So essentially, Bill Clinton had 8 years to fix this, but didn't. He was too busy getting his dork sucked by a fat chick to pay attention to the safety of Americans.

That's not really what I think - I just thought it would be fun to act like a left-wing nut for a few minutes, and blame a president for something that he had nothing to do with.

[missingamerica]

Hilarious. See what all that "9/11 was Clinton's fault? He didn't do anything after the World Trade Center was bombed!" has done?

Now, half the people want to go back in time to pin something on somebody else.

Institutionalized excuses.

A government isn't called "a ship of state" for no reason, people. If you're the captain and it sinks, it is your responsibility.

[dodaz-2009]

Nah..what we need are FORWARD thinking people,.. outside the box thinkers-- who can blend, progress w/ traditional sensibilities, while understanding (or hiring people) who can fix this problem...Things are not always black and white--and one can only hope there will be a truly, THOROUGH investigation....unlike we've seen in the past...and stop politicizing this unfortunate, tragic event..Although politics, may have played a part,.. lets get REAL answers...even if the answers are not what we want to hear,...and get to the TRUTH of the matter.

[clestes-2009]

"I think all of us in the engineering community are absolutely shocked a bridge that has been around for just 40 years fell so precipitously," Orsak said.

Well, what the hell?? The bridge was made of degradable components!!! Of course it would eventually wear out. That is why you have inspections!!!

Of all the stupid things to say....

[antoniof123]

An artical a few weeks back talked about 30 percent of the roads need to be repaired. But we don't have the money yet we have the money to spend on war. Wait children need health care yet we don't have the money yet we have the money to spend on war. Wait minimum wage should not be raised because we don't have the money yet we have money for war. Does any one see a pattern here. Please this is the fault of being afraid.

[clestes-2009]

Let's see now, we are spending 12 billion A MONTH in Iraq. How many bridges can be fixed for that???

Bushies are going to try and blame Clinton or someone else for this, just as they try to blame someone else for all his other problems, but here is the truth.

This happened on Bush's watch, just like Katrina and Rita and Wilma. This is going to start a whole movement into investigating not just bridges, but the whole infrastructure of America.

AND, it is going to bring to notice AGAIN the amount of money we are spending on the war and how much better it could be spent.

It is going to ratchet up pressure on Congress, espcially those up for re-election. They are going to pressure Bush to bring the Iraq war to an end.

There is the whole month of August that the Iraqi parliment is off, 6 weeks of bad news about US infrastucture and then Bush is going to ask for MORE MONEY FOR THE WAR.

I forsee more trouble ahead for Bush!!!

[zorlacskates]

five people died so far in this huge, earth-shattering, nationally followed trajedy. four soldiers died in iraq yesterday. support our troops, bushies? ah, not so much...

[infidel_us]

Hey libs, when are you whiners going to put forth the theory that Bush "blew up" the bridge in MN? I mean, we all KNOW he brought down the WTC.....

Libs are losers, plain and simple.

[jasbek]

As usual per every news story, its all Bush's fault. How ignorant can you be?

[edjohn66]

try this on for size, infidel:

Siphon off the trillions of dollars that Bush spends in Iraq and we could have repaired all the bridges in America that needed it.

Or else keep the taxes on the wealthy that Bush cut, and the same result: we could have repaired all the bridges in America that needed it.

Does that fill your request? You moron.

[adventurepa]

Posted by jh6379
Who's the big loser infidel_us?

Actually Infidel is not the biggest loser.

The US citizen is the biggest loser.
The US taxpayer is the biggest loser!
The United States is the biggest loser.

Our contry is going to hell in a handbasket.

[mike71067]

"Siphon off the trillions of dollars that Bush spends in Iraq and we could have repaired all the bridges in America that needed it." Does that fill your request? You moron."
-Posted by edjohn66 at 10:26 AM : Aug 03, 2007

The real moron here is the one that doesn't realize that this bridge was deemed "structurally deficient" in the 1990's. Clinton had 8 years to address this situation and didn't. I suppose he was too busy sexually harrassing women to think about the safety of Americans.

[creeper00]

Of course the construction project had something to do with the collapse. They overlaid the concrete deck that was already there with another layer. Check with your local concrete contractor to see what kind of weight that added to the bridge.

As for this: "After a study raised concern about cracks, the state was given two alternatives: Add steel plates to reinforce critical parts or conduct a thorough inspection of certain areas to see if there were additional cracks. They chose the inspection route, beginning that examination in May." what is there to say? It's indefensible. "Fix it or look at it"?

Watching the individuals who are responsible for this disaster tap-dance their way out of their own culpability would be entertaining if there weren't people who died because they didn't give a d*mn.

[infidel_us]

You and Bush are just plain sick.
Posted by jh6379 at 10:21 AM : Aug 03, 2007

"L" for LOSER

You sorry arsed bedwetters are just a pathetic bunch of losers......to be pitied, really. It must be physically uncomfortable to go thru life as such idiots.

[mike71067]

"what is there to say? It's indefensible. "Fix it or look at it"? Watching the individuals who are responsible for this disaster tap-dance their way out of their own culpability would be entertaining if there weren't people who died because they didn't give a d*mn."
-Posted by creeper00 at 10:32 AM : Aug 03, 2007

Your 20-20 hindsight is really helpful. Perhaps you should apply for a job as a Monday morning quarterback.

[gunownerdan]

We have spent enough money in Iraq to rebuild every single bridge in America and more.
Imagine that there's quite a few Americans that couldn't care less and are even proud of it.
The dirty democrats and rotten republicans would have it no other way!

[blancadebree]

I'm so glad our President didn't lose any time placing blame for the incident squarely with the Defeatocrats. Even as bodies lie on the floor of the Mississippi River, our Decider showed the kind of courage he exhibited on September 11, 2001, Katrina, and Scooter Libby, deflecting any blame for this catastrophe from tax cuts for fabulously wealthy people like me by Republican Governors and himself, and threw is immediately on those nasty Democrats who want to tax and spend. It is fiscally irresponsible to tax and spend, especially if the taxing is on people like me, and the spending is on things like infrastructure. Go Bush!

[ammermantm]

I do blame bush for a lot of things (because he has screwed up a lot of things) but this is not his fault. it is not the job of the federal government to decide which bridges get repaired and which do not. this bridge went down because it needed repair and it did not get enough of it.

[klmbcnu-2009]

I'LL BET ALL YOU WHINE *** CRY BABIES WOULD BE ABLE TO SOLVE ALL THE WORLDS PROBLEMS IF "YOU" WERE PRESIDENT - YOU ALL HAVE WAY TO MUCH TIME ON YOUR HANDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[abaur2]

When a desaster strikes we are all experts on why it happened. The infrastructure ( roads, bridges, the electric grid, dams etc. have not been properly maintained. The holds true for the againg aircraft fleet used by millions of travelers every day. Yes, we can blame Mr.Bush, the Senate and the Congress but it is us who voted for them. We might be wise to start a major overhaul of our Government before we get into the details.

[cosmicfluke]

It used to be, whenever I'd ask a person what they got in return for their tax dollars, the answer was almost always "roads and maintenance."
But, the ideological leader of today's neoconservatives, Grover Norquist, envisions a day when Americans will pay taxes and get nothing in return.
That day seems closer now. In Mr. Norquist's privatized world, you'll still be paying all kinds of tax (remember sales tax, property tax, liquor tax cigarette tax gasoline tax, there are dozens, federal income tax is collected to pay the Federal Reserve- no more a federal agency than is Federal Express, interest payments on our national debt to the bankers) and getting nothing but toll booths on every road, on every bridge, owned by cronies awarded no-bid contracts and protected from lawsuits.

The American Experiment is about over. The "Death Tax" will be repealed and that will usher in a grand age of American Aristocracy. Gated communities protected by Blackwater Security, a corporation with a constitutional right to bear arms against US citizens, like they did, at great expense to the American taxpayer, in New Orleans.

Everybody turn and look at that shadow. It's from the giant fork sticking out of our azzes.

If you can afford it, convert your cash to euros and leave the country. Just like our Great American Corporations are doing.

[gkc99]

"it is not the job of the federal government to decide which bridges get repaired and which do not. this bridge went down because it needed repair and it did not get enough of it."
Posted by Ammermantm


EXCEPT--this bridge was on an Interstate HIghway, I-35. That makes it federal business.

But not to worry--this isn't the only piece of infrastructure the do-nothing Repub Congress of 2000-2007 has ignored--there are plenty of other rotting bridges, overpasses, tunnels, pipelines and the like out there rotting in all your states, also.

The chemical industry gets awarded a pass on securing chemical manufacturing facilities from terrorists, thanks to the Bushits and payoffs from the consortium of chemical industries. When that huge LNG or chlorine facility goes up, thank Bushit for deciding that the chemical industry could set its own standards.

Isn't the neocon aristocracy in any way accountable for its actions? Where's that erstwhile REpublican mantra of personal responsibility--does not apply to REpublican politicians?

[random_radar]

We have a simple plan for replacing infrastructure and it is working very well: when a bridge collapses, replace it.

The same plan works for everything: when the plane's wings fall off, replace it. When the building falls down, rebuild it. When the nuclear power plant melts down, build another. When the dam breaks, replace it.

It all works out in the end. There is no need to worry about crumbling infrastructure.

On the other hand, our government has always done a great job of rebuilding countries after a war. Maybe if we fought another revolutionary war our government would rebuild our own country?

[infidel_us]

Yeah, go on over to *** News, a$$hole!
Posted by gkc99 at 10:59 AM : Aug 03, 2007

See what I mean?

[fizzal-2009]

I hope they don,t think just tax,s will replace this bridge, but depend on another source of revenue, one big lawsuite.

[twofoottwome]

I live in Pittsburgh PA and I can tell you that here, in a city full of bridges, they are all owned and operated by different entities. Some of them are owned by the city, some the county (Allegheny), and then some by the state (PennDOT). If a federal agency exists that can police the safety of bridges, I would surely welcome them because one bridge here in particular (the 31st Street Bridge) has been under repair for a while now...while it rotted away, buckling with holes in it for years!!! Most of ours are very old bridges too!

[gkc99]

"More than 70,000 bridges across the country are rated structurally deficient like the I-35W bridge, and engineers estimate repairing them all would take at least a generation and cost more than $188 billion."

And the optional Bushit neocon war will end up costing about a trillion dollars.

Billions for Halliburton, Blackwater and ranches in Paraguay for the Bushits, but not a penny for US bridges! That would be socialism!

And neocons won't support a government expenditure, unless it comes to them of course.

But not that state Repubs escape responsibility. Tim Pawlenty, Repub governor of Minnesota, elected with Smear Boat Veteran money, subsidizes ball parks for the investor class, but the class the drives to work just is gonna have to watch out for their own interests!

No matter what any neocon shills on the thread spew.

[infidel_us]

"And the optional Bushit neocon war will end up costing about a trillion dollars."

And blah, blah, blah....ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[ablesch]

Thanks America for bombing us here in Europe in WWII. We were forced to rebuild our bridges, etc. and have great modern infrastructure. That Marshall Plan really helped too. Cheers :)

[ckcool192001]

My question is how long is it going to be before bush somehow uses this bridge collapse as another reason for staying in Iraq...

[donnie900]

What de hell is bush doing there? HEY! GIT DE ***** OUTTA HERE, YA ***** SKKKANK!