MINNEAPOLIS -- In the aftermath of the major collapse of the Interstate-35 bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis Wednesday, the question remains of how long it will take the city and state to rebuild the massive infrastructure.

History has shown that the turnaround time varies, depending on what type of structure was damaged and how much of it. In the case of the I-35 bridge, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty Wednesday described the collapse of as "a catastrophe of historic proportions" and couldn't immediately give a definitive timeline for a complete replacement.

According to the governor's office in Texas, the replacement for the damaged portions of the Queen Isabella Causeway in 2001, took about 75 days.

The Causeway -- which serves as the only link between South Padre Island and the Texas mainland -- was severely damaged after a towboat captain allegedly lost control of a string of barges and currents drove them into a bridge support on Sept. 15, 2001. Eight people died when their vehicles plummeted 85 feet into the channel.

The repairs of the Interstate 40 bridge disaster in Webbers Falls, Okla ., in May of 2002 were also completed swiftly. Like the Queen Isabella Causeway disaster, the accident was allegedly caused by a barges pushed by a towboat -- which collapsed a 500-foot section of the bridge over the Arkansas River, killing 14 people.

With crews working around the clock were able to repair the bridge in about two months.

The funding to help the rebuild in Minneapolis is immediately on its way. In a news conference near the site of the disaster Thursday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced a $5 million grant to help pay for rerouting traffic patterns around the disaster and help with recovery and clean-up efforts.

Minnesota's U.S. Sens. Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Amy Klobuchar also announced that additional $100 million in federal money will be made available to the state to help rebuild the bridge. Coleman said at the Minneapolis news conference that he and Klobuchar would work "hand in hand" to lift the cap on the $100 million if necessary.

Not long after Coleman and Klobuchar addressed the media, U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar -- a Minnesota Democrat who chairs the House Transportation Committee -- said in Washington that he introduced legislation to remove the cap of $100 million that's allowed in funding per state per year for disaster assistance.

If that's done, he's proposed that Minneapolis get $250 millionto help replace the highway bridge. He hopes to get the bill through the House in one day.

Built in 1967, the steel-arched I-35 bridge in Minneapolis rose about 64 feet above the river and stretched about 1,900 feet across the water.

According to the 2008 transportation plan posted on the Minnesota Department of Transportation Web site, the pre-disaster timeline to replace the bridge was originally slated take place between 2015 and 2023, at an estimated cost of $122 million.

NTSB chairman Marc Rosen said in Minneapolis Thursday that his agency launchyed a "go-team" late Wednesday night and there are 19 investigators already on the case.

They include specialists in bridge engineering to materials to highway engineering and human factors. Rosenker said the team will reassemble parts of the bridge "like a jigsaw puzzle" away from the scene of the accident, so they can analyze what made the bridge fall suddenly, without warning.

Rosen estimated that investigation to find out the cause of the collapse will likely take a year.