Bush Pledges to Rebuild 'Main Artery of Life'

Bush met with one of the divers participating in the recovery search, as well as with Red Cross personnel and first-responders. He posed for photographs and patted officials on the back. He also met with survivors of those killed in the collapse.

The president singled out for praise Gary Babineau, a 24-year-old construction worker who helped ferry more than 50 children to safety after they were trapped in the school bus.

Babineau told Bush of the rescue, the two men both wearing red hard hats and gesturing toward the bus. Babineau told reporters later that he had "painted a picture" for the president about how the drama unfolded, telling him of the dust, the bleeding children whose faces were frozen with shock.

"I could see it: He was just thinking about it, and he could just see how terrifying it was," Babineau said.

Bush said: "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 their fellow citizens who did that."

The president offered prayers to the families of those killed at the bridge, from those who "wonder about whether they'll ever see a loved one again." He then struck an optimistic note, suggesting "a better life" can come from such terrible tragedies.

Those touched by the incident are "committed to turning something ugly into something good," Bush said, and he voiced his conviction that "it's going to happen."

The National Transportation Safety Board is looking into the cause of the bridge collapse, but Peters acknowledged that the nation's road infrastructure is aging.

"Most of our infrastructure came about as long as 50 years ago, as the interstate highway system was being built," she said, but added, "I do believe that America's highways and bridges are safe."

On Saturday, the House joined the Senate in authorizing about $250 million to rebuild the structure. Administration officials said more federal money could be made available if needed to cover the cost of the rebuild.