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RT RYBAK: It was a tragic night in the city of Minneapolis, and we move now into a day in which there will be one human story after the others that will tell the tale of really what happened at that one horrible moment. It's appropriate now that we're surrounded by tremendous support in this city. And we're deeply, deeply grateful for the fact that we have our congressional leaders and our Congressman, Congressman Ellison, our senators, Senator Klobuchar and Senator Coleman, obviously, our governor, who has been here throughout this.

About an hour ago, the president called to express his sympathies and to talk about his strong desire to move forward with replacing what he appropriately categorized as the most important transportation link into the city. We're also deeply gratified that Secretary Peters, who you'll be hearing from in a moment, is also here. And I think that's a very, very strong show of support by the federal government to the city of Minneapolis and to the state of Minnesota as we look forward to moving ahead with the recovery.

There are a series of tactical issues that we'll be talking through, and I'll be introducing people as we go through that-- how we're dealing with recovery, how we're looking at the issue of the bridge and how it's rebuilt, how we're looking at the issue of what happened and why. But I also call on people to remember that this is something that will not be about one news cycle or a couple of days.

It is really about families who are now only beginning to understand the depth of what it means to have a loved one who is no longer here or to have a loved one whose whereabouts you don't know about. And so it is important for us all to have contained compassion and sustained compassion that will stick with us for the long period of time that it will need for this community to heal.

As we've talked this morning, we began with a meeting in my office at City Hall, and then we moved to the site where we were able to see the scene. I think going back onto the scene this morning after having been there last night reminds you that these are horrible images. But within each of those images is a story. That car you see tangled in the wreckage is someone's cousin or brother or husband, and one story after the other unfolds as you look at that.

And I think we have to remember that, that there are some tremendous stories that we'll be hearing. Thank God this wasn't worse. And thank also the incredible team of people who responded to this disaster. It is-- I became mayor shortly after 9/11 and was plunged immediately into the emergency preparedness business. I was so gratified that there was already a great team in place in Minneapolis, and it grew significantly.

The FEMA folks are here, and we thank them for the fact that, shortly after I became mayor, they flew 70 of us out to Mount Weather, where we went through preparedness training. And that training was the backbone of the training we put in place immediately, that was put in place at the Emergency Preparedness Center underneath City Hall. There's an incredible unsung hero who you haven't seen because he's been on the job.

His name is Rocco Forte. Rocco is the assistant city coordinator of the city and who leads our emergency preparedness. He remains there on the point, as he has been throughout this entire incident. But he's also remained on the point, as has our entire team, throughout the past few years, as we've built and improved on our preparedness training. We can never be prepared for something as horrendous as this, but we are gratified for the incredible courage of the employees of the city of Minneapolis, of the county, the state, and the federal officials who have helped us.

All of them have shown courage and compassion at a time when we need huge doses of both. But we also have done planning, and I think we will have to do much more as we move forward. As we move forward on the issue of how to address the transportation issues, we'll be meeting in the coming days with employers and other people who need to get people to work. Those issues are certainly in the forefront.

We'll be-- however, in the short term be spending more time dealing with the recovery and on the very immediate issues of personnel in front of us. We have with us, as I say, a large group of people, and I'll turn it over to them. I think what I'd like to do, if I could, would be to start with the governor and then move through some of the folks who have been on the point. And then ask Secretary Peters and then the elected officials who have graciously joined us from Washington to join us. So if I could turn to the governor.

TIM PAWLENTY: Thank you. Well, good morning. This is obviously a horrific incident that takes your breath away and sinks your heart. And in the horror of this incident, there is a silver lining that shines through, and that is the goodness of Minnesotans. And you saw it in the tremendous response of the first responders and emergency responders, a tremendous outpouring of support and resources and personnel and equipment.

They did a tremendous job and I think saved a lot of lives that were at risk in the moments and hours after the bridge initially collapsed. We also see goodness in bystanders and Good Samaritans who weren't wearing a uniform but ran to the problem, ran to the crisis, ran to the challenge and the danger to be helpful, another reflection of Minnesotans' goodness. And so it's in this horror and in this tragedy, you see a silver lining of the goodness of the people of Minnesota.

Also, obviously, the data and the general accounts today are going to become much more personal. You're going to see the identities, perhaps, in the coming days, of people who have lost their lives in this tragedy or have been injured. The accounts of how that happened and the pain and the burden of that is going to be visited upon families in Minnesota. And we want them to know that the city and the state and the federal officials have them and others all across Minnesota and all across the country are praying for those families and are thinking of them in these hours and days and months of tragedy and very, very difficult times.

In terms of the response from here, obviously, as the mayor indicated, the effort now is on recovery. That's going to have to take place in concert with the NTSB investigation, as you'll see in just a moment. The leader of the NTSB investigation team and the NTSB overall is here. He will provide some comments. But what he is indicating is their investigation will take place.

They will be treating this area and the area of the bridge, essentially, as an investigation scene or in some respects a crime scene. So they want to be careful about how and when things are moved in addition to the recovery effort. And then once that is completed, then, of course, the debris removal process will kick in, and we've been in concert with the federal officials. I want to thank our congressional delegation, Senators Klobuchar and Senator Coleman and Secretary Peters and Congressman Ellison and all the other members of the Congressional delegation.

They have been wonderful as partners in this. And the Secretary will describe more in just a moment of the federal government's offer of support and help. And it's significant, and it's prompt, and we appreciate that. But of course, once the debris removal takes place, that will allow us then to begin the rebuilding process of this bridge, and we'll get to that in due course.

But it's going to be a significant effort. Senator Pogemiller, the leader of the Minnesota Senate, and Speaker Kelliher are here as well. And of course, we will do whatever it takes to move this along on an emergency basis. And then finally, of course, there's going to be a lot of disruption in terms of traffic patterns, economic activity, downtown and beyond. So we are already working on and deploying alternative plans for transportation, transit, and the like that will hopefully alleviate some of that in the coming weeks and months.

But with that, I guess we'll turn it over to the Secretary of Transportation-- we're glad that she's here so promptly-- Secretary Mary Peters.

MARY PETERS: Governor, Thanks so much.

TIM PAWLENTY: Thank you, Madam Secretary.

MARY PETERS: Thank you, Governor. First and foremost, on behalf of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and the whole administration, our sympathy goes out to this community, to those who lost loved ones, to those who were injured. You are all in our thoughts and prayers. We also want to share the gratitude of those who helped with the rescue and the recovery efforts.

What we saw, many of us, on television last night from Washington, DC, was a community, not just of emergency responders, but as the governor said, as the mayor said, normal people who came to the scene and helped rescue others and I'm sure saved lives in the process of doing that.

I am here today on behalf of the president to offer the full support of the federal government, particularly the US Department of Transportation, as we respond to this emergency. I plan to provide a support role and to expedite federal financial assistance, as Governor Pawlenty and the mayor have indicated, as they lead this response effort, this recovery period of this important incident.

I've asked our bridge and our engineering staff from the Federal Highway Administration to provide their full support to the state and to the National Transportation Safety Board as they analyze what happened here. My experts, my staff, including Federal Highway Administrator Rick Capka, will stay here on ground to provide that kind of assistance. We fully understand what happened, and we can take-- we will take every step possible to ensure that something like this does not happen again.

I've spoken with the DOT Inspector General last night. He will monitor all of the investigations and then decide very quickly what kind of short-term actions need to be taken. I've also made it very clear to the governor, to Senator Coleman, to Senator Klobuchar, and to Senator Ellison-- or Congressman Ellison, that we are prepared to provide financial and technical assistance needed to keep both the road and the river traffic moving and to get this bridge rebuilt safely and as soon as possible. We will employ every method that we have at our disposal to do that.

Today, I am making an initial distribution of $5 million from the department. This money will be available today to help restore the traffic flow, to clear the debris, to set up detours, and to begin the repair work. We stand ready to make all of the additional appropriate funds available as the state completes its assessment of the total damage and the ultimate cost to replace this bridge. DOT will absolutely lock arms with local government officials and be a partner in the rebuilding of this vital commerce and commuting corridor here.

The sad memory of this tragedy will never fade, but we're going to make sure that last night's damage and debris will become a thing of the past. We'll rebuild this bridge, repair it, and reestablish it in this community as quickly as we can. Governor, thank you so much.

RT RYBAK: Thank you, Madam Secretary. Why don't we turn to the senators and then we'll--

NORM COLEMAN: Thank you, Madam Secretary. Yesterday was a day of horror for the city of Minneapolis and for the state of Minnesota. And there will be many difficult days ahead as we begin to go through the recovery process. So I hope that we continue to hold those who have suffered loss from this horrific tragedy in our prayers. I think it's very, very important.

There are still some very tough days that lie ahead as we move into the recovery phase. I have to tell you that as a United States Senator-- and Senator Klobuchar and Congressman Ellison and I all said the same thing-- really proud of this community and the way they responded. General Mark Rosenker is here, and he is the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, and I know he'll speak with you as part of this group a discussion later.

But he talked to me as I came upon the scene about the acts of heroism from the first responders, the acts of heroism from private citizens, and the impact that had on saving lives. So we're just proud of this community and the way they responded to this terrible, terrible tragedy. A couple of thoughts on what we can do at the federal level. Secretary Peters talked about $5 million, and that's just to get some things moving.

One of the realities is that money technically is not available for bus service, but we need bus service. And the first thing the secretary said is we're going to waive that. Don't worry about that rule. There's $100 million that is available for rebuilding. It's 100% from the federal government in the first 180 days.

The fund where that money comes from, it has money in it, but it may well be used for other projects. And I'll let Senator Klobuchar talk more about that. But both in the House and Senate side, we will be moving forward to make sure that money is available. We will rebuild, and the federal government will be a full partner with the folks at the local level to make sure we rebuild.

And the last point, ultimately, then, is to find out is what happened. What caused this unbelievable, almost incomprehensible tragedy? Chairman Rosenker was here in the early morning hours. His team has already begun to assemble. They're on the job. They will go through the process of figuring out how this occurred.

It may take a little while, but we need to understand that. We need to understand that so to make sure that this type of tragedy never happens anywhere again. And so from the federal level, we are full partners. I even had a conversation. I got a call of condolence from the head of the Small Business Administration.

Director Steve Preston said to me, Senator, my heart goes out to you and the people of Minnesota. Let us know what you need. So we are committed to respond. Senator Klobuchar and I will work hand in hand to coordinate those resources. But again, I want to reiterate the need to keep the people of Minneapolis and Minnesota in our prayers because the horrors will continue to play out.

And then to express my appreciation and admiration for the folks who responded the way they did. I was the mayor of Saint Paul on 9/11, and I remember how unprepared we were then in terms of communication. And then I watched folks go through training. You hope that day never comes where you have to use it.

But the people of Minneapolis used it yesterday, and they used it in an incredible way. And they showed great leadership, and in the end, they save lives. And so, again, I express my appreciation and admiration to the folks who have been on the scene for the job that they're doing.

AMY KLOBUCHAR: Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Governor. Thank you, all of you, all the people of Minnesota. And our prayers and thoughts are with the victims and their families and those who are in the hospital. When I watched what unfolded last night, I was so proud. I was so proud to be a part of this state.

The whole world watched as this city and this state came together. You saw the woman diving over and over again into the water to look for victims. When we got here today, driving down 35W, there was already a billboard up, already a billboard telling people to take another route. You open up the paper, it says 25 extra buses. People came together.

Faced with the tragedy, I remember-- I was telling the Sheriff that I remember that we practiced this when I was the prosecutor, the county attorney. We would have these run-throughs of what we would do in a disaster, and we never knew that it would actually happen. And it did. A bridge in America just shouldn't fall down.

And that's why we have called for this investigation. I'm very pleased that the National Transportation Safety Board chair is already here conducting that investigation, getting the evidence that we need. We're going to have to be patient with that investigation. It's going to take time because we have to get to the bottom of this.

The last thing I wanted to talk about is the work that we need to do in Washington. I've already talked with Senator Reed and Senator Durbin and Senator Schumer and Senator Patty Murray, who's head of the Appropriations Transportation Committee in the United States Senate. She actually sent a staff member with us today. We are going to work to make sure that the resources are there to not only help with the immediate recovery but for the long term rebuilding of this bridge.

As Senator Coleman mentioned, there are caps that go in place. I think it's $100 million. If necessary, we will work to get a law passed to waive that cap. A bridge in America just shouldn't fall down. We are going to go back there today and meet with our fellow senators, work with Congressman Oberstar-- who fortunately heads up the committee that deals with this-- work with Congressman Ellison to make sure that the resources are there from the federal government.

And again, I just wanted to thank the people of my state. I always have been proud, and I always knew that we come together like no one else. But last night, the whole world was able to see it.

KEITH ELLISON: Once again, we learned that we really do need each other. That despite our different walks of life, that when tragedy hits, we come together. And I'm so proud to be a Minnesotan today because we've shown our compassion for each other. We've shown that compassionate people and responsible government can bring about results for people. And so I just want to say that I want to-- just want to say that I am so proud of the people who jumped into the water and who went the extra mile to rescue and save our citizens.

And I just want to say that we are all at loss for the families who've lost their family members in this terrible tragedy. Their loss is our loss, and we embrace that. And I just want to say that I've been in direct contact with our Chairman Oberstar of the Transportation Committee. He is very concerned and spoke eloquently on the House floor about this tragedy and about how heartfelt it was, along with Congressman Ramstad, Congresswoman Bachman, Congresswoman McCollum, and then also Congressmen Peterson and Klein were also very concerned and expressed their solidarity with us here today.

And so we will be working together-- responsive government, compassionate people-- to talk about rescue and recovery but also rebuilding and also finding out what happened. We're going to face this tragedy bravely, as we always do.

So again, it's good to be a Minnesotan today, and it's good to be an American today. And we have to stand together, and we will be successful. And we will look back at this tragedy with sorrow but also with a sense that if we come together, we can come through anything. Thank you.

RT RYBAK: I want to also acknowledge Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller and Speaker of the House, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, who have both been with us and have given us strong support as we move through this with the state, I'd like to now call forward the chairman and the chief so we can talk through some of the issues of the-- that we've been doing on the investigation, on the rescue.

MARK ROSENKER: Thank you very much. Senators, Congressmen, Madam Secretary, Governor, I'm sorry I have to be in Minneapolis on such a sad, tragic occasion. Many years ago, I lived in Minneapolis. My dad is from Minneapolis, and I know the greatness of the people of Minnesota and the people of Minneapolis.

I think it was displayed in courage and heroism last night. And I think it's indicative of the same kind of courage and heroism that we see in the United States from the East Coast to the West Coast. And on behalf of my colleagues at the National Transportation Safety Board, I want to offer our most sincere condolences to those that lost loved ones last night. And our thoughts and our prayers are for a speedy recovery of those who were injured.

The National Transportation Safety Board launched a go team late last night and early this morning to Minneapolis consisting of 19 investigators. They will represent a number of disciplines, from bridge engineering to materials to highway engineering to survivability, survival factors, human factors. We have our Family Assistance Department here as well, and we're even bringing in the head of our materials laboratory from Washington. He will be here at 1 o'clock this afternoon.

This investigation has already begun, and we will begin to try to give you as much information as we can get. We will do at least one and maybe two briefings a day as we learn and as this investigation progresses. But with that said, this will be a complex investigation. These are engineering issues that we're going to have to determine. There are materials issues which were going to be studying, and they don't come quickly.

The first thing we must do is recover the pieces. And after we recover these pieces of the bridge, we will begin actually trying to reassemble them. Not in a way where it's actually standing but kind of in a jigsaw puzzle way flat so we can look at the various parts of this bridge and understand what made it fall down last night. With that, I want to turn it back over to the mayor-- or the chief--

REPORTER: Can you spell your name?

MARK ROSENKER: Mark Rosenker, M-A-R-K R-O-S-E-N-K-E-R. And I'm chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, and we're out of Washington, DC. Chief, did you want to say something?

TIM DOLAN: Sure.

It's been about 16 hours. Just a couple hours ago, we sent home the officers that initially responded to this incident from all over the state. We were being relieved by officers that are from all over the metro area. And it's amazing to see the response that we have.

I was down at the scene just about an hour and a half ago. It is still a tremendously dangerous scene. We have several individuals at that scene that were not recovered. There are some unbelievable testimonials and stories involving a number of those people. And I can't get into the specifics because we have notifications and so forth to make. But people that were pinned, people that were partly crushed, that were-- told emergency workers to say hello, say goodbye.

So it was an amazing, amazing scene, and it's going to be a very, very dangerous scene for some time. Recovery has started. Boats are on the water, but we also have people, like I say, on land that need to be recovered and recovered safely. So we ask for patience. We appreciate all the support that we're getting from throughout this state, and this will be a long process. And so thank you.

JIM CLACK: I think Chief Dolan covered pretty well the operations side of this. My name is Jim Clack. I'm the fire chief here in Minneapolis. I just want to reiterate what Chief Dolan said. We've got tremendous response from all of our mutual aid partners in the metro area. The state of Minnesota has been right there with us from the first hour of this incident.

The federal government, it's obvious that they're here to support us-- senators and representatives and officials from the federal government. I would say also that the training and the equipment that we've got over the past six years, since 9/11, has played a critical role in the success so far of this incident. This has gone better than any large-scale incident I've been at. And I'm very proud of the men and women of the Minneapolis Fire Department, the men and women of the police department, and all the other agencies-- the Sheriff's office.

All of them came together and did a great job, and they're continuing to do a good job. I do want to reiterate also what was said in that this will not be a quick recovery. We're going to take it easy. We're going to keep people safe. We're going to keep you informed as we go along.

But thank you for all you do. And thanks to the citizens of Minneapolis for all they did to help us. It was a coordinated and a great effort so far.

RT RYBAK: With that, we want to open it up for questions. I do also want to acknowledge that another person here who has been extraordinarily helpful is Jan McDaniel from the Red Cross. And they've been remarkable.

One of the things that was especially remarkable is not only did the Red Cross infrastructure fall into place, but there were a significant number of volunteers who came forward. And their work is very, very important, as have all those who stepped forward to give blood as well. With that, why don't we open it up for questions?

REPORTER: Governor Pawlenty, the White House said this morning that this bridge in 2005 scored a 50 out of 120 on structural integrity. And that it's up to the state to bring the bridge up to a better standard than that. Should the state, could the state have done something more?

TIM PAWLENTY: I'll let the secretary address that, and I will as well, Tom.

MARY PETERS: Yeah, let me address that. What that rating of 50 means is that the bridge should be repaired, should perhaps be considered for replacement at some point in the future. It was by no means an indication that this bridge was not safe. Had that been the case, MnDOT, Governor Pawlenty would have shut this bridge down immediately.

So none of those ratings indicated that there was any kind of danger here. Simply says we need to schedule this bridge for rehabilitation. And that was in the future program for MnDOT Governor. Excuse me.

TIM PAWLENTY: As the secretary indicated this morning, Tom, that because of the assessment by the national officials of structural-- have structural needs, that is not the same as it needs to be closed down or torn down and replaced immediately. The inspections that took place, as we're told, from MnDOT in 2005 and 2006 had in mind and incorporated that ranking, had the inspection take place with that in mind.

And with that in mind, indicated that the bridge was continued-- could continue to be used and potentially replaced in the future. But there was no call by anyone that we're aware of that said it should be immediately closed or immediately replaced. It was more of a monitor, inspect, maintain, and potentially replace it in the future. And I believe the Secretary concurs with that.

REPORTER: Mr. Rosenker, as you've seen, is there any indication from what you've seen, can you determine what might have happened?

MARK ROSENKER: No. It is clearly much too early in the initial stages of this investigation to have any idea of what happened. We understand there's some video out there that we want to get hold of and enhance. We will also be putting out a witness telephone number if anybody has any either still photos or any other videos that may well be out there. We clearly would like to get hold of that for our analysis.

REPORTER: Could you tell us how you do the jigsaw puzzle? Find a warehouse somewhere, or what is that like?

MARK ROSENKER: We will be taking it to a place where we can put together a span as long as this. Again, we will be looking for critical elements. The entire bridge may not be put back together. We'll do some initial investigation while it is in place at this point and then decide what we need to do to begin the process of bringing it somewhere to understand what happened.

REPORTER: Chief, you talked about the recovery efforts, both on land and on the water. Can you have any idea of how many numbers when it comes to recovery at this point?

TIM DOLAN: I'll just say that we know of several people who are pinned or trapped and were, at the time when we left them, deceased. And I'll just leave it at that. It's a-- so and we also know there are several vehicles that were in the water that we haven't gotten to yet. But as far as pinned or trapped, there are several people, and I'll just say that.

REPORTER: You said some of those people said goodbye. What did they say?

TIM DOLAN: There's an individual case where an individual was severely-- obviously, severely injured and was talking to medical personnel and was able to say his goodbyes to his family. And it will be passed on.

REPORTER: How difficult was that for your officers?

TIM DOLAN: Well, it was extremely-- if you see the scene there, the officers had-- some of the officers actually had to cross girders, swim part of the piece to get to that central area. It was a very, very difficult scene, very, very chaotic. And it was not just my officers.

It was fire, ambulance personnel, medical personnel. So it was an all-out effort. But when you see that scene and you see the slabs that are hanging there, you realize just being near that those slabs is dangerous. And they were crawling over them. So tremendous-- like I say, tremendous courage.

TIM PAWLENTY: I have to add one other thing. Tom, I just wanted to add one other thing. In addition to the 2005 and 2006 inspections, there is a 2007 inspection that was partially completed. And the focus of that inspection, as we're told, is whether the bridge should be rehabilitated or replaced in the future. And that was going to be completed after the construction that was currently underway on the bridge was done. So the final report and final review was going to be in September of this year.

So in addition to the 2005 and 2006 inspection, there's a partial 2007 inspection that has at its focus, when in the future to replace the bridge, should it be rehabilitated or completely torn down. But it was a future-oriented inspection with that goal in mind.

REPORTER: Are there other bridges in the state that have a worse structural stability rating than this one?

TIM PAWLENTY: Tom, I'm told that under the national rating system, they use the term structurally impaired. There are 70,000 to 80,000 bridges nationally that have that designation. And again, according to the secretary, that doesn't mean they all need to be closed or torn down. It means they need some level of maintenance or inspection or oversight or action. And if there is an indication that they need to be closed down, of course they would.

There's one category even lower than that called functionally obsolete. And there's 70,000 or so bridges nationally in that category. So all around the country and around the state, there are bridges that have these designations.

REPORTER: How many of Minnesota--

TIM PAWLENTY: Well, that's why-- we don't have an exact number for you now, but we can get that to you today.

NORM COLEMAN: Tom, I just want to-- if I can just add one, one little thing, just purely by-- not planned. But I introduced a bill-- Senator Klobuchar is co-author of it-- establishing a national commission on infrastructure, requiring a commission to be established to report back to Congress in 2009 on the status of bridges and other infrastructure and plans for rehabilitation. So there has always been concern about bridge repair.

But Senator Klobuchar and I have been working on a bill that I think will probably get hotlined now through. But that was introduced before this tragedy, saying that we as a nation need to take a close look and have in place a plan. That's what the bill calls for, a plan for a 5, 10, 15 year renovation of our infrastructure that's clearly aging. Go ahead.

AMY KLOBUCHAR: One thing-- I just wanted to add one thing. We don't know what caused this. You've heard from the Safety Transportation Board, but this is certainly a reminder that we need funding to keep our bridges strong and that we need emergency funding when tragedies happen like this.

TIM PAWLENTY: Tom.

REPORTER: How many bridges in Minnesota, Governor, fall under the structural deficiency?

TIM PAWLENTY: We can get you that number.

REPORTER: I ask that because Congressman Oberstar indicated this morning that maybe as many as 40%.

TIM PAWLENTY: That is the number that's applied nationally in that category. Plus, keep in mind, there's that other category that I mentioned as well. So in Minnesota, we will have some percent of that. However, when compared to the other states, we are higher ranked in terms of bridge than most other states. And I'd like the secretary to address that as well.

MARY PETERS: Here in Minnesota, only 3% of the bridges fall into one of those two categories. And so that is different than it is nationally. In fact, Minnesota has a very good bridge inspection program. Let me explain a little bit about what those two terms mean. Functionally obsolete means that there are new standards available today that if we were building a new bridge today, we would do things differently.

And so that means that when this bridge is repaired or upgraded or something like that, you need to incorporate those new features or certainly if you replace that bridge. But it does not mean that bridge is not safe to drive over. The other category, structurally deficient, as I said a while ago, means there's a deficiency that needs to be addressed at some point in the future. It's monitored, and in no way did Minnesota DOT not do everything that was appropriate, everything that we know is appropriate to do to monitor bridges.

And in fact, as I said, their inspection program is better in this state than in other states. But clearly, we need to understand what happened here. I think Senator Klobuchar said it very well. Bridges in America should not fall down. So we need to get to the bottom of this, and that is absolutely my top priority, the president's both senators, the mayor, the governor and all of the officials here, including NTSB, of course, to get to the bottom of that.

REPORTER: Is that video from the traffic cameras that are positioned on the end of the bridges?

TIM DOLAN: It's from the lock and dam.

MARK ROSENKER: We have not gotten. The chief is telling me-- again, I have not seen it. We know it exists. We're going to bring it back to Washington, also do some enhancement. Chief tells us it's from the dam.

TIM DOLAN: Lock and dam, and it's from under.

MARK ROSENKER: It's from under. We're going to take a look, and hopefully, there are other videos as well. Many times, as I say, when we open it up to witnesses, it is amazing what you end up having-- being provided to us that becomes quite helpful.

REPORTER: We've covered your investigation--

RT RYBAK: I should mention also, just at this point, that we're in the midst of a program with the federal government to install safety cameras on bridges throughout the city of Minneapolis. And that's something that is not in place, but we are working on right now.

REPORTER: We've covered, Chairman Rosenker, your investigations of plane crashes, specifically, all around the country and know how you and your team operate and the reports that you give. Is this kind of bridge collapse going to be more difficult to pinpoint a reason than in some of those plane crashes that you covered?

MARK ROSENKER: Each accident is very unique. Many are extremely complex. Some will take years. In this case, what we're hoping to be able to do is bring together as many of these parts, put them together, as I said, quite similarly to a jigsaw puzzle. And at that point, when we have all of the parts recovered, I believe it will be somewhere close to a year before we get our final report out.

But we will do this in a comprehensive, thorough, yet still expeditious manner. But there will be no shortcuts. When the report is delivered, when it's presented to the board for determination of probable cause, it will be an outstanding report. I am confident of that, as all the rest of our reports have been.

AMY KLOBUCHAR: I also want I wanted to add to that while this investigation is going on, the bridge can be rebuilt.

MARK ROSENKER: Yes, ma'am.

AMY KLOBUCHAR: So it's not like the investigation has to conclude, and then the rebuilding process starts because the evidence will be taken from the scene.

MARK ROSENKER: Exactly, as quickly as we can do that.

REPORTER: Timeline on where this process is going to go from today on? Is there any way to--

MARK ROSENKER: Sir, I wish I could do that. All I can tell you is that we will work as quickly as we possibly can to bring up the parts-- along in cooperation with our federal partners, our state partners-- to bring these parts as quickly as we can to the surface, begin the process of actually fitting them together, taking some of these parts back to Washington, perhaps, for analysis in our own laboratories. When we get all of those parts back and put together, I would suggest that it's somewhere close to a year at that point.

REPORTER: Chairman, in your experience.

TIM PAWLENTY: Go ahead.

Have you seen a bridge collapse of this magnitude before?

TIM PAWLENTY: I think we have a--

MARK ROSENKER: I'm sorry.

REPORTER: Chairman Rosenker.

MARK ROSENKER: Yes.

REPORTER: Can I ask you if you know yet what work specifically was being done on the bridge and whether you think it could have been a factor? Supposedly the company that was doing that work has already said we're not to blame. What can you say, or what can anyone say about the exact work that was being done at this time?

MARK ROSENKER: This is the first few hours of this investigation. I can assure you that we will be looking at every single document that we can get our hands on. If we need to issue a federal subpoena, I will sign one. We will get what we need in order to be able to understand what happened here. I am confident of that.

REPORTER: Have you seen a bridge collapse of this magnitude?

MARK ROSENKER: We've looked at a number of bridges in the 40 years. Some have been extremely catastrophic. Some actually resulted in recommendations that we made to the federal government that, in fact, created the bridge inspection program. So we've seen some very, very serious accidents in the past.

TIM PAWLENTY: And we will, but the secretary wants to add a comment, and I'll address the rest of your questions.

MARY PETERS: Yeah, just let me address this specific issue. The last collapse of a bridge that we saw this magnitude was in 1983, and it was a bridge on an interstate on Interstate 95. Since that time, as Chairman Rosenker indicated, we have incorporated improvements to the bridge inspection and rehabilitation program and incorporated those into the standard process. So this is a first time in a very long time that we've seen something like this happen.

There have been incidents that related to a barge crashing into a bridge pier on Interstate 40 in Oklahoma in 2002, a ramp collapse in California just a few months ago as a result of a very horrific crash and of course, earthquakes and other acts of God. But this is, to my knowledge, the second time we've seen a bridge of this magnitude go down without a specific reason, like a barge or something like that, since 1983. But we, again, will go through all of those records and work with the chairman of the NTSB to evaluate that.

REPORTER: [INAUDIBLE]

MARY PETERS: I'm sorry.

AMY KLOBUCHAR: 1983 the Connecticut.

MARY PETERS: The 1983 Connecticut crash was a pier that-- pin, I'm sorry, that sheared off, a pin that was holding. And that pin got sheared off. That was the ultimate result of that. That type of structure is not present on this particular bridge.

TIM PAWLENTY: And as to the second half of your question, we had a construction project underway on the bridge that started recently and was scheduled to be completed in September of 2007. That work included cement or concrete replacement and rehabilitation. It included guardrail rehabilitation and replacement. It included lighting replacement.

MnDOT inspectors were on the project regularly. And I think each day during the project, including yesterday, in fact, one of the MnDOT inspectors for that construction project was one of the injured people in the incident. So that's a general description of the work that was being done, and obviously, the NTSB will look into all aspects of this.

REPORTER: Governor, what are you going to do as far as MnDOT's role in this? Are you going to have an internal investigation or--

TIM PAWLENTY: Well, the first and foremost, we'll be looking at the NTSB's work, Eric. I think it's appropriate to have the federal government at an arm's length relationship look at what happened and MnDOT's role. I don't want to have MnDOT investigating itself. So we will have a federal review.

And to the extent that doesn't cover any aspects of what we want it to cover, we'll certainly do a separate investigation. But it wouldn't be done by MnDOT.

REPORTER: Governor, what are you going to do to investigate the safety of other bridges in the state?

TIM PAWLENTY: Yes, well, I think as Pat's question alluded to, this afternoon, we're going to have a MnDOT press conference where they'll talk about bridge safety, the inspection program, details surrounding this bridge. We have, as one-- the secretary noted, one of the better or best bridge inspection programs in the country. And our ratings are better than most other states in that regard.

However, that's little consolation when you have a horrific tragedy of this event. The first thing we're going to do is make sure that we immediately inspect and check all of the bridges of this design and that fall into this category on the assessment scale. And then, of course, we'll beef up on a triage and emergency basis the inspections overall. But the underlying bridge inspection program in Minnesota is a good one, and it has served us well over the years.

REPORTER: How many of those bridges are there of this design?

TIM PAWLENTY: Of this particular design, I don't know the answer to that. There are some. So similar-- same or similar design.

REPORTER: One last question before we have to wrap up. Did someone review the thinking on criminal or terror in this, or how you're looking at the possibility of [INAUDIBLE] things going on?

TIM PAWLENTY: Chief, you want to address that?

TIM DOLAN: Sure. Right now, we have no reason to believe we have anything but a collapsed bridge. But we have to cover all the bases, and we are covering all the bases. And that's why we have what-- the generals here. That's why-- we have to cover all the bases.

And that's why we have-- the FBI is here. We have federal agencies working with state agencies working with us to basically make sure we get all those statements, all those witness accounts, all those videos that we said. And we'll look at every aspect of what happened here. But right now, we have no reason to believe it was anything but a collapsed bridge.

REPORTER: Thank you, guys.

RT RYBAK: Let me just-- let me say in conclusion that we deeply appreciate the gratitude that's come from not only the citizens of Minneapolis and Minnesota but from people all over this country. It means an enormous amount to us. We also have to remind people that we are in a very long battle here. That will be a battle about moving large equipment, moving large cars from very difficult places, moving pieces of cement. But more than anything else, we are in a long, emotional battle for people who are going to suffer scars for a long period of time.

So as much as we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of emotion today, we're going to need that over a long period of time. So we call on all of you to please surround those who you know who need support with that support right now, but to especially think about how over the long term, Minneapolis and Minnesota can continue to be a place that's compassionate to everyone. I want to thank you for that.

AMY KLOBUCHAR: I also want to say, Senator Coleman and Congressman Ellison, Secretary Peters, and I go back now to Washington. And we go back having seen stories of heroism and having seen miracles like that school bus just sitting on the edge of the highway with little kids who somehow survived. And we go back to go to work, to get the resources, and to get this investigation underway. Thank you.

REPORTER: Thank you all very much.