[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
[August 4, 2007]
[Pages 1042-1043]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following a Tour of the Interstate 35W Bridge Damage in 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
August 4, 2007

    On behalf of the citizens of America, I bring prayers from the 
American people to those who suffered loss of life as a result of the 
collapse of the 35W bridge here in the Twin Cities. I bring the prayers 
of those who wonder about whether they'll ever see a loved one again.
    First, I want to thank the Governor 
and the mayor and the 
Senators, Members of the Congress for working 
in a coordinated way to respond to this tragedy. I have met with the 
chief of police and the sheriff, rescue workers, people who represent men and women 
who are working as hard as they possibly can to save life and to find 
life, to go under these murky waters to find the facts.
    And it's going to take a while, but I have been impressed by not 
only their determination but have been impressed by their compassion. I 
have met people that were on the bridge; I met a man who was on the bridge when it collapsed. His instinct 
was to run to a schoolbus of screaming children and to help bring them 
to safety.
    We have an amazing country, where people's instinct, first instinct, 
is to help save life. There's--a lot of people's first instincts here in 
the Twin Cities was to save the lives of somebody who was hurting. And I 
know the people of this community thank those--their fellow citizens who 
did that.
    I'm here with the Secretary of Transportation because our message to the Twin Cities is, we want to get 
this bridge rebuilt as quick as possible; that we understand this is a 
main artery of life here; that people count on this bridge and this 
highway system to get to work. There's a lot of paperwork involved with 
government. One of our jobs is to work with the

[[Page 1043]]

Governor and the mayor and the Senators and the Members of the Congress to cut through that 
paperwork and to see if we can't get this bridge rebuilt in a way that 
not only expedites the flow of traffic but in a way that can stand the 
test of time.
    I make no promises on a timetable. I do promise that Mary 
Peters, the Secretary of Transportation, is 
going to be in charge of this project. I do promise she's going to 
listen to the local authorities to find out what the folks here need. I 
do promise that when she sees roadblocks and hurdles in the way of 
getting the job done, she'll do everything she can to eliminate them.
    Out of these tragedies can come a better life. And I, having visited 
with the people here, believe that not only are they committed to a 
better life, not only are they committed to turning something ugly into 
something good, but it's going to happen.
    So I'm proud to be with you. Thank you for your leadership. God 
bless the people of this part of the world. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 10:40 a.m. at the Lower Street Anthony 
Falls Lock and Dam, St. Paul District. In his remarks, he referred to 
Gov. Timothy J. Pawlenty of Minnesota; Mayor R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis, 
MN; Sens. Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar; Timothy Dolan, chief, 
Minneapolis Police Department, MN; Richard W. Stanek, sheriff, Hennepin 
County, MN; and Gary Babineau, a truckdriver from Blaine, MN, who helped 
rescue schoolchildren trapped by the bridge collapse.