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Debris To Be Removed From Minn. Bridge Site

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Aug 21, 2007 7:27 pm US/Eastern

Debris To Be Removed From Minn. Bridge Site

Minneapolis Bridge Collapse Complete Coverage

MINNEAPOLIS (CBS) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: Right now, a lone construction truck is all that remains of all the vehicles on the bridge when it collapsed.
WCCO

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On Tuesday at the site of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, the focus of the recovery effort went from finding victims to lifting debris out of the river. For the first time, CBS Minneapolis affiliate WCCO-TV was able to get an up close and personal tour of the disaster site.

Monday night searchers found Greg Jolstad's body, the construction worker from Mora was the 13th and final victim to be pulled from the river.

Now, a lone construction truck is all that remains of all the vehicles on the bridge when it collapsed.

"Other than that, this is how it's been looking since Aug. 1 at about 6:08 or 6:10 p.m.," said Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek.

The sheer enormity of the massive damage to this bridge when it's seen up close is sobering.

"Really nothing has changed here," said Stanek.

However, one thing that has changed is that those who died and remained trapped under the rubble for so long are now gone. A buoy floats in the Mississippi River as a somber reminder of the victims in the channel at the south end of the bridge.

"Just down river ... really starts to mark the beginning of where the eight victims were located over the last two weeks," said Stanek.

The Navy divers who spent long, agonizing hours searching for the victims were praised for their work.

"This was extremely and safely done and these men are great heroes," said National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark Rosenker.

Debris from the south end of the bridge and all the concrete decks will now be removed.

The public can also get a closer look now from the U of M foot bridge and the 10th Avenue bridge may be open soon.

However, parts of the super structure from the north side need to be preserved.

"We have to be careful in how we recover ... so that we don't damage any evidence," said Rosenker.

Also on Tuesday, President Bush made an emergency disaster declaration for the bridge collapse which now makes more federal emergency funds available. Those funds would apply to search and rescue costs.

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