WASHINGTON (AP) - The National Transportation Safety Board's investigation of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse will be the

subject of public hearings, even if the board isn't the one conducting them. Congressman Jim Oberstar's spokesman says the lawmaker will hold hearings this year on how the NTSB has handled the investigation.

 

Spokesman John Schadl says that the hearings will take place in the House Transportation Committee. Oberstar's the chairman. The committee would have done the hearings anyway as part of the NTSB reauthorization. But Schadl says the hearings will now have a specific focus on the investigative process.

 

Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat, has been critical of the NTSB's handling of the investigation so far - including its decision not

to hold a public hearing.

 

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)