United States President George Bush made a swift visit to Minneapolis on Saturday and took a closer look at the pile of rubble and twisted steel that not long ago was the Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi river.

A day after the First Lady visited the crash site, Bush viewed the proportions of Wednesday’s disaster from both air and ground. He assured everyone that the structure will be rebuilt and he will personally inaugurate the new bridge linking the Minneapolis neighborhoods of Downtown East and Marcy-Holmes.

“Our message to the Twin Cities is we want to get this bridge rebuilt as quick as possible. We understand that this is a main artery of life here,” Bush told the assistance.

At least five persons died and 100 were injured when the eight-lane bridge collapsed on August 1 during the rush hour, dozens of cars plummeting into the river below and turning into a death trap for their occupants.

After hovering over the site and walking through the ruins, Bush pledged that his government will launch a project to rebuild Minnesota’s second busiest bridge, the country’s Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters following to take charge of the project.

“I do promise that she's going to listen to the local authorities to find out what the folks here need,” Bush said.

“I do promise that when she sees roadblocks and hurdles in the way to getting the job done she'll do everything she can to eliminate them.”

He didn’t give an estimation of the process’ duration, saying “a lot of paperwork” could hamper the start of the project. But added that the Congress and local authorities will work together in order “to cut through that paperwork.”

Meanwhile, divers and rescue teams are trying to locate the missing people, fighting with murky waters, strong currents and blocks of concrete and twisted steel that plummeted 20 meters and trapped dozens of vehicles under them.