|
 Across the region, Sunday was a day of prayer for the five known dead and the missing in Wednesday's bridge collapse. But Monday was a day of trying to return to something like normal life
-- including removing debris from the Mississippi River.
"It will be tough work but also sensitive work," Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak said on CBS's "Early Show" on Monday.
Since the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed, traffic patterns have been reconfigured and a state highway converted into a temporary freeway to help prevent major bottlenecks.
Other new diversion plans have been introduced since Wednesday, including changing the timing of traffic signals, creating new turn lanes, closing access roads and adding buses. The city encouraged carpooling and asked commuters to leave home earlier than usual if possible to stretch out the morning rush hour and ease congestion.
The Interstate 35W bridge carried up to 140,000 vehicles a day. Highway 280 has been designated as the primary replacement route for the eight-lane bridge and traffic coming in from the northern suburbs.
Divers were scheduled to head back into the Mississippi River Monday for
a fifth straight day of searching for eight missing victims. They have also
requested help from FBI and Navy dive teams.
State transportation officials, meanwhile, planned to begin preparing for the removal of cars and debris from the disaster site.
On Sunday night, an estimated 1,400 people gathered at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral for an interfaith service that included responsive readings and singing by the church choir.
The Rev. Peg Chemberlin, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Churches, told the crowd that though they came in "shared anger and anguish," the city had rallied in crisis.
"It's important that we stand together and say, 'Minnesota, your heart is full of courage and compassion,'" she said.
"The heroes in this moment, like the tears, are many," she said.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty said that the public prayers marked the start of a period of healing.
[to top of second column]
 |
 "We're here to begin the process of restoration," he said.
Ahmed Sahal Iidle, father of Sadiya Sahal, a pregnant nursing student who was missing with her toddler daughter, was joined by about two dozen other Somali Muslims in brief prayers Sunday night at the Brian Coyle Community Center.
They prayed for the protection of the searchers and the speedy recovery of the missing. They also announced the Somali community will hold a public memorial service for all the victims Friday.
Funerals for three of the dead were scheduled for this week.
State transportation officials said they expected to begin removing bridge debris from the Mississippi later this week. Clearing the wreckage will help with the recovery operation and open a channel at least 56 feet wide to accommodate barge and boat traffic.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it could take as long as 18 months to complete its investigation into why Minnesota's busiest bridge collapsed and fell into the river.
Their investigation will include using high-tech software to simulate removing a key support structure and examining how the bridge reacts.
"If they remove a piece and it falls down the way they saw it, that's a pretty good indication they found the right piece, and there's all sorts of ways of doing that," said W. Gene Corley, senior vice president of CTL Group, an engineering firm.
Corley, who has helped investigate bridge collapses, as well as disasters such as the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Oklahoma City federal building, predicted federal officials would have a pretty good idea of the cause within a few weeks.
State officials said they hope to be able to have the bridge rebuilt by the end of 2008. Pawlenty said Sunday the cost could be as high as $350 million.
[Associated Press; by Henry C.
Jackson and Mark Scolforo]
Associated Press writer Vicki Smith contributed to this report.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
 |
