FL - Pedestrian bridge collapses at Florida International University, Miami, 2018

[Jax49]

a comment:
[FONT=&amp]"If you look at the renderings it was supposed to be a cable stayed bridge. They released the supports under the slab without the tower/cables installed."
[/FONT]
Yes, this.
I looked at the renderings as well.....the tension cables were to balance the compression forces and weight.
Yet the bridge was swung over on its own? Was it expected that the concrete slab would be temporarily strong enough for that span without a support in place before the tower and cables were to be placed?
I don't understand.

And the stress test...what were they thinking to allow traffic through during that?

Wow. Thanks. I didn't realize that about the design.

Any engineers on the thread? Why would they test it before they installed the cables?

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

‘No, it can’t be!’ Witnesses describe horror of Florida bridge collapse
by Phil Helsel, Gabe Gutierrez and Kalhan Rosenblatt

MIAMI — Witnesses said it sounded like a bang or an explosion.

A 950-ton pedestrian walkway near a Florida university collapsed on a sunny Thursday afternoon, crushing cars and killing several people, according to officials.

"All of the sudden you hear a loud bang," Jose Mejia, who was having coffee with city officials and police when the bridge near Florida International University's campus gave way, told MSNBC...

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/no-it-can-t-be-witnesses-describe-horror-florida-bridge-n857076

 

[whitelilac]

My husband is a retired large structure concrete engineer. He said the way it crumbled into small pieces, it looks like the concrete wasn't fully cured.

I wondered about that too.
Particularly because:

"It is also the first in the world to be constructed entirely of self-cleaning concrete. When exposed to sunlight, the titanium dioxide in the concrete captures pollutants and turns it bright white, reducing maintenance costs."

Might this titanium dioxide have an effect on curing time?

http://www.nbc-2.com/story/37694188/first-of-its-kind-pedestrian-bridge-swings-into-place

 

[Gardenista]

Full project design info. SMDH

University Bridge in Miami, FL | Investment Opportunity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rfYISaVCFM

 

[CoverMeCagney]

My husband is a retired large structure concrete engineer. He said the way it crumbled into small pieces, it looks like the concrete wasn't fully cured.

My husband is a planning consultant (UK), so while he doesn't design the bridges he designs the roads/routes around them and is occasionally on site when the big works are done. He just can't believe the road was still open to traffic while they were still working on it.

 

[enelram]

more pics and details-

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/west-miami-dade/article205316174.html

 

[Betty P]

My husband is a retired large structure concrete engineer. He said the way it crumbled into small pieces, it looks like the concrete wasn't fully cured.

That seems to describe it. Towards one end of the bridge, the concrete is just powdery/crumbly like sand. Quite a big section of it is like that, nearly half.

Still no activity at the site. Everyone is just standing around looking. Some taking photos of the crushed cars. Why aren't they using cranes, etc. to move debris?

It's a shame they didn't try to rescue or see if anyone was alive in thise cars. Wonder why?

 

[MaryG12]

https://twitter.com/CitySweetwater/status/860502994806345729?s=19

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

My Lord just looking at the span makes me physically ill.

NO supports whatsoever in the middle.

:jawdrop::freakedout::fainted:

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

That seems to describe it. Towards one end of the bridge, the concrete is just powdery/crumbly like sand. Quite a big section of it is like that, nearly half.

Still no activity at the site. Everyone is just standing around looking. Some taking photos of the crushed cars. Why aren't they using cranes, etc. to move debris?

It's a shame they didn't try to rescue or see if anyone was alive in thise cars. Wonder why?

Cable news outlets aren't talking about the bridge collapse any longer. Is there a presser scheduled later this evening? I'm surprised there haven't been updates on injuries, fatalities. What's going on

 

[MaryG12]

Now for some perspective:


http://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20111104/cyclists-cheer-venices-legacy-trail-overpass


How it should be constructed:

(please see attached)

And this is over the 4-lane Tamiami Trail in Venice, FL


http://www.dougbarnesauthor.com/201...gacy-trail-bicycle-bridge-Venice-Florida.html


The Mediterranean-style overpass, a $3.1 million project, was built with federal stimulus funds approved in 2009. The bridge is 12 feet wide, 18 feet tall and 900 feet long.


I remember when it opened, it took about a year to build IIRC


And


http://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20171023/work-to-start-soon-on-laurel-road-overpass



But an 8 lane highway with an overpass like FIU with NO central support?!

Not a very good idea.

This pedestrian overpass design was a disaster from the get go.

 

[Betty P]

Cable news outlets aren't talking about the bridge collapse any longer. Is there a presser scheduled later this evening? I'm surprised there haven't been updates on injuries, fatalities. What's going on

There was a presser with the mayor about 2 hrs ago. It was brief. There was also an update from one of the hospitals, treating 10 people. Since then (about 1 1/2 hrs ago), nothing. Not sure what's going on, but apparently there's nothing for CNN to cover anymore. Christiane Amanpour talking about her new sex show. I used to respect her as a reporter.

 

[x_files]

Fox News reporting there was a stress test underway when the bridge collapsed.

(live tv)

Why wasn't the road closed? Let me guess lack of regulations.

 

[Pamela_Brewer]

Fox News reporting there was a stress test underway when the bridge collapsed.

(live tv)

Umm...stop traffic (maybe)?
Moo

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Betty P]

Why wasn't the road closed? Let me guess lack of regulations.

They didn't want "big government" getting in the way of "job creators"? Isn't that what they usually say?

Someone earlier said the Miami govt is corrupt. They sure didn't want to talk about this tragedy very much.

 

[Gardenista]

The companies behind FIU's collapsed bridge have been sued and cited for unsafe work, including in another bridge collapse in 2012 when state found they "violated multiple safety rules"

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/f...on-firms-accused-of-unsafe-practices-10176596

 

[enelram]

Why wasn't the road closed? Let me guess lack of regulations.

Apparently road was closed during installation of the span on Sat. 3/10

I truly hope they get to the bottom of this. Miami is a city where locals can bribe inspectors to get faulty work approved.
And sadly this construction company can close up shop, file bankruptcy, and open tomorrow as a new LLC.
Builders do it all the time when they have financial problems. A year from now this construction company will not
exist as same company on paper.

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

My Lord just looking at the span makes me physically ill.

NO supports whatsoever in the middle.

:jawdrop::freakedout::fainted:

But it's supposed to be cable supported, so there would not be supports under the bridge, is that correct?

 

[whitelilac]

PC now

https://www.nbcnews.com/video/watch...rnational-university-near-miami-1186827843535

 

[Betty P]

NTSB giving a PC right now

https://www.cnn.com/specials/live-video-1?adkey=bn

They've sent in a big multi-disciplinary team

Don't have anything to say yet. Will update as investigation unfolds.

 

[fred&edna]

https://twitter.com/CitySweetwater/status/860502994806345729?s=19

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Thanks for the link/image. Did the plan change? I mean what happened to the tall tower/cables shown in the rendering??