MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 4, 2007
Bush Tours Bridge Site As Search Goes On
5 Confirmed Dead; Authorities Say Slow Traffic Helped Keep Death Toll Low
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Play CBS Video Video Heroes Saved School Bus Children on a school bus that had crossed the river seconds before the bridge collapsed were rescued by the quick thinking of those nearby. Tracy Smith reports.
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Video Emotions Mark Bridge Site Though Bush promises aid and heroic divers still risk their own lives, survivors and families of last week's bridge failure must learn to cope with grief. Bianca Solorzano reports.
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Video Minn. Tragedy: Still Questions Two days of diving have not found more bodies. Questions still remain as President Bush tours the site and promises federal aid to rebuild. Teri Okita reports.
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A diver searches trough cars amidst the rubble of the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Friday, Aug. 3, 2007. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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As recovery work continues at the scene of the bridge collapse, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters has called on all states to immediately inspect 756 bridges with the same type of truss design. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
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Satellite images released by GeoEye show the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis before and after the bridge collapse. The before image, left, was taken on Sept. 4, 2001. The after image, right, was taken on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007. (AP Photo/GeoEye Satellite Image)
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First lady Laura Bush, center, greets Red Cross volunteers while visiting the site of the I-35W bridge collapse over the Mississippi River, Friday, Aug. 3, 2007, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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President Bush is accompanied by Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek as he tours the damage at the collapsed Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007. (AP)
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Photo Essay Twin Cities Bridge Collapse A major bridge suddenly turned into a scene of horror as it collapsed into the Mississippi River.
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Interactive Span Of The Disaster Photos, video and a look at the Minneapolis bridge that collapsed during rush hour
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.
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.2005 Report Card For America's Infrastructure (4 mb.)
American Society of Civil Engineers
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.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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- well,
Minnesota is a "blue state"
..
Which government(s) do you want to blame for this disaster??
City, County, or all the way up....to the State government ???
...
Liberals don't seem to have the brain power to comprehend the American concept that:
"we may be one country, BUT we are ALSO fifty diverse states"
Celebrate diversity. - Reply to this comment
- well,
Minnesota is a "blue state"
..
Which government(s) do you want to blame for this disaster??
City, County, or all the way up....to the State government ???
...
Liberals don't seem to have the brain power to comprehend the American concept that:
"we may be one country, BUT we are ALSO fifty diverse states"
Celebrate diversity. - Reply to this comment
- well,
Minnesota is a "blue state"
..
Which government(s) do you want to blame for this disaster??
City, County, or all the way up....to the State government ???
...
Liberals don't seem to have the brain power to comprehend the American concept that:
"we may be one country, BUT we are ALSO fifty diverse states"
Celebrate diversity. - Reply to this comment
- well,
Minnesota is a "blue state"
..
Which government(s) do you want to blame for this disaster??
City, County, or all the way up....to the State government ???
...
Liberals don't seem to have the brain power to comprehend the American concept that:
"we may be one country, BUT we are ALSO fifty diverse states"
Celebrate diversity. - Reply to this comment
- well,
Minnesota is a "blue state"
..
Which government(s) do you want to blame for this disaster??
City, County, or all the way up....to the State government ???
...
Liberals don't seem to have the brain power to comprehend the American concept that:
"we may be one country, BUT we are ALSO fifty diverse states"
Celebrate diversity. - Reply to this comment
- well,
Minnesota is a "blue state"
..
Which government(s) do you want to blame for this disaster??
City, County, or all the way up....to the State government ???
...
Liberals don't seem to have the brain power to comprehend the American concept that:
"we may be one country, BUT we are ALSO fifty diverse states"
Celebrate diversity. - Reply to this comment
- well,
Minnesota is a "blue state"
..
Which government(s) do you want to blame in this disaster??
City, County, or all the way up....to the state government ???
... - Reply to this comment
- How misguided are you? You can't relegate a Christian lifestyle only to remain inside a church? You must embrace it as a lifestyle. You make it sound like a movie you go to on Fridays.
Posted by ovation3 at 11:51 PM : Aug 04, 2007
Why not? Why must all of you "christians" force your beliefs on everyone else? YOU decide what's morally correct or incorrect, YOU decide whether abortion should be illegal, YOU decide whether gay couples can be married to each other or not.
The question is - who in the he11 are you?
Your religion should be a private affair between you and your "god". You can say your prayers, you can go to church, you can toss a couple of bucks in the collection plate. No one is denying any of that - it's up to you. Why don't you extend the same courtesy of MYOFB to everyone else, instead of dictating what you approve or don't approve of? - Reply to this comment
- Not if it's done in church where it belongs...
Posted by formrusmcsgt at 11:18 PM : Aug 04, 2007
How misguided are you? You can't relegate a Christian lifestyle only to remain inside a church? You must embrace it as a lifestyle. You make it sound like a movie you go to on Fridays.
Christians don't claim to be perfect. In fact, the whole purpose for God to become man in the form of Jesus was for the sinner. I am glad He is so much more than we are, because He loves me no matter who I am. And you know what? God even loves a Democrat. Now that is forgiveness in the truest sense. - Reply to this comment
- Sam Houston came from the South and he took over Texas' army a month after the Alamo. He then kicked Santa Anna's *** along with his army all over the place. Texas is now a state.
Good Job Sam You are the fu@king man!
PS
I love Dorito's - Reply to this comment
