Pedestrian Bridge in Miami Collapses- multiple fatalities

[Twizzler]

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-us-canada-43418898

Just awful- was just completed a few days ago

 

[BlueRidge]

I was shocked to see it had just been installed.

 

[AxelAnnie]

OH - how horrible. Somebody is going to be in a lot of trouble.

Those poor people.

The smoosh looks like one of the CA freeways after the SF Earthquake.

I can't even imagine the horror.

 

[BlueRidge]

According to the NY Times: " It had been built off-site and moved to the location on Saturday. The bridge was still under construction and not expected to open to the public until the end of the year, a university official said. "

 

[Sylvia]

Miami Herald article: FIU pedestrian bridge collapses days after installation; police say multiple deaths, cars trapped
Excerpts:

The bridge — in a catastrophic and sudden failure — crashed down across six lanes of heavily traveled Tamiami Trail. It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse of a structure that had been touted as an innovative “instant” bridge because of how quickly it could be constructed. Authorities stressed that it could take days or more to determine what went wrong. Several witnesses reported that workers were on the bridge, which was not expected to open to foot traffic until 2019, when it crumbled.

Designed as a cable-supported bridge, the $14.2 million project was a collaboration between MCM Construction, a prominent Miami-based contractor, and Figg Bridge Design, based in Tallahassee. Figg is responsible for the iconic Sunshine Skyway Bridge across Tampa Bay.
Figg issued a statement Thursday saying the company was “stunned” by the collapse and promising to cooperate with every authority investigating the collapse.
“In our 40-year history, nothing like this has ever happened before,” the company’s statement said. “Our entire team mourns the loss of life and injuries associated with this devastating tragedy, and our prayers go out to all involved.”

[Deputy mayor] Kemp declined to identify the source of the information, but said he had conversations about workers “possibly adjusting tension lines on the bridge” before the accident.
MCM Construction Management, which is building the bridge, posted a message to the company’s Facebook page after the collapse promising “a full investigation to determine exactly what went wrong.”
BDI, the engineering firm responsible for monitoring the structure, said the company would release a statement regarding the bridge collapse later Thursday.

The pedestrian walkway was installed in a single morning at Southwest 109th Avenue on Saturday, intended eventually to link FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus to the small suburban city of Sweetwater, where the university estimates 4,000 of its students live.
Before Saturday’s installation, FIU said the pedestrian bridge used an innovative approach under which a 175-foot section of the overall 320-foot long bridge was fabricated by the side of the Trail while support columns were erected in place.
Over a few hours on Saturday morning, the 950-ton span was lifted off the ground by a mechanical transporter, swung into position across the Trail, then lowered into place over the support columns.
That reduced to a minimum the time the trail had to be closed to traffic, and minimized risks to workers and people in the vicinity, FIU said.
The university’s engineering school has an “accelerated bridge” program that develops techniques to speed up bridge construction. The program consulted with builders, designers and engineers early in the process, but was not closely involved in the pedestrian bridge program, a spokeswoman said last week.
There were as yet no stairs or ramps to the bridge, which was not open. Opening was scheduled for early next year.

 

[Japanfan]

Somebody is going to be in a lot of trouble.

Oh yeah, someone's head is going to roll. And that person and/or the company they work for are going to have to live with being the cause of these deaths for the rest of their life (even if it was an accident).

 

[Vash01]

Saw this on CNN earlier. Terrible tragedy. Condolences to the families that lost loved ones.

 

[ballettmaus]

The WaPo reports that an engineer involved in the project called the State of Florida two days before the collapse to report a crack in the structure. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...lapse-at-least-6-dead/?utm_term=.036dde843618

 

[AxelAnnie]

Fox News

Senator demands docs about collapsed Florida bridge as reports of cracks surface. As reports emerged about an engineer's warning of cracks days before Thursday's calamitous collapse of a pedestrian bridge in Florida, a senator wants to find out exactly who was behind the construction that may have led to the structure's fatal failure.
Renderings of the project before it went up showed a tall, off-center tower with supporting cables attached to the walkway, the Associated Press reported. When the bridge collapsed, the main tower had not yet been installed, and it was unclear what builders were using as temporary supports.