Welding is a best method. ANything else would be a temporary fix and would probably not have an appearance you would be proud of.
You will need to cut the offending area out and splice in new metal using very short spot welds.
Do not get too impatient with this. Do a spot weld on each side then go get a glass of water and drink it before you add any other spot welds.
After the next few spot welds, go play with the dog, and so on and so on.
Oh and Welcome to the Bolt.
Hope this helps.
