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

[lonetraveler]

[FONT=&]http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article205627294.html

March 16, 2018 08:42 PM
Updated 16 minutes ago

Two days before a pedestrian bridge collapsed at Florida International University, killing at least six, an engineer with the firm that designed the structure called the state to report cracks in the concrete span.
While it’s unclear if those cracks were a contributing factor to the catastrophic collapse Thursday, they were observed at the north end of the structure, which appeared to be the section that failed. The FIGG Bridge Group employee, Denney Pate, left a message with the Florida Department of Transportation Tuesday in which he acknowledged the structure needed to be repaired but dismissed the significance of the problem.
“Hey Tom, this is Denney Pate with FIGG bridge engineers. Calling to, uh, share with you some information about the FIU pedestrian bridge and some cracking that’s been observed on the north end of the span, the pylon end of that span we moved this weekend,” Pate said, according to a transcript released Friday night by FDOT.

[/FONT]“Um, so, uh, we’ve taken a look at it and, uh, obviously some repairs or whatever will have to be done but from a safety perspective we don’t see that there’s any issue there so we’re not concerned about it from that perspective although obviously the cracking is not good and something’s going to have to be, ya know, done to repair that. At any rate, I wanted to chat with you about that because I suspect at some point that’s gonna get to your desk. So, uh, at any rate, call me back when you can. Thank you. Bye.”
FDOT said the voicemail wasn’t heard by any of its employees until Friday, the day after the bridge fell.
“This voicemail was left on a landline and not heard by an FDOT employee until Friday, March 16 as the employee was out of the office on assignment,” the department said in a late evening press release. “When the employee returned to his office today, Friday, March 16, he was able to listen to the voicemail.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article205627294.html#storylink=cpy[FONT=&]


Soundcloud recording:
[/FONT]https://soundcloud.com/miamiherald/voicemail-from-engineer-about-cracks-in-fiu-bridge[FONT=&]
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There is major criminal neglect here. There should have been an immediate "Stop work order" issued at that moment, clearing all personnel off the structure, barricaded off and absolutely, the highway under it, cleared off and closed.

 

[Gardenista]

FIU says it knew about crack on bridge, and state’s Transportation Department did, too
March 17, 2018 09:10 AM
Updated 3 minutes ago

Hours before Florida International University’s new pedestrian bridge collapsed onto traffic, the school met with engineers and the state’s Department of Transportation for two hours to discuss whether a crack on the structure was a safety risk, FIU said in a statement Saturday.

The disclosure followed a Friday night announcement from FDOT that an engineer hired by FIU had called the agency days before the March 15 collapse to flag the crack and say he did not think it was a safety issue. The voicemail message was not received until Friday, according to FDOT.

In its own statement Saturday morning, FIU said the crack was discussed in the presence of an FDOT representative. “The FIGG engineer of record delivered a technical presentation regarding the crack and concluded that there were no safety concerns and the crack did not compromise the structural integrity of the bridge,” the statement read. “This meeting lasted approximately two hours and included FIU and FDOT representatives.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/loc...iami-dade/article205660334.html#storylink=cpy

 

[fred&edna]

(New to me) instagram video of the collapse

[video]http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article205635774.html[/video]


ETA: There's a school bus soooo close... sheesh!

 

[Gardenista]

(New to me) instagram video of the collapse

[video]http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article205635774.html[/video]


ETA: There's a school bus soooo close... sheesh!

Zoomed in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucflj-MsJBI

 

[MzOpinion8d]

Zoomed in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucflj-MsJBI

Gives me chills. Some amazing people jumping out of their cars and running up to help, though.

 

[MzOpinion8d]

Intense video right after it happened

https://twitter.com/taionablunt?lang=en

It was def right after it happened -- and I noticed one gray like van pulling out of the traffic and heading on the other way street/

I thought ............my god you just saw a bridge ahead of you smush people and it appears you
are concerned about running late

then I thought ...........boy if being late to the office is the reason for your behavior you must have one hel# of a boss if bridges murdering people right in front of your own eyes are not a reason to be a dash late ............


jjeezzzzzzzzzzzz

what are we coming to ??

The person may have been afraid a bomb had caused the bridge to fall and there were more to come.

 

[Jax49]

(New to me) instagram video of the collapse

[video]http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article205635774.html[/video]


ETA: There's a school bus soooo close... sheesh!

Gave me chills seeing the bus...

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Locals: What progress is being made toward recovery of victims who are pinned in vehicles beneath the pedestrian bridge? I'm sure the loved ones of those still missing are losing patience.

 

[whitelilac]

Just watched the videos of the first two cars that have been removed from under the rubble early this morning.
It's ghastly....vehicle completely crushed to it seems about 2 feet thick. There were (or are still) human beings in those. It's just incomprehensible....

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article205635774.html

 

[whitelilac]

Oh man....

Two vehicles and three bodies inside them were removed Saturday from the site of Thursday's pedestrian bridge collapse near Florida International University, Miami-Dade police Director Juan Perez said. Four vehicles remain in the rubble, Miami-Dade County Deputy Mayor Maurice Kemp said.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/17/us/florida-miami-bridge-collapse/index.html

 

[gregjrichards]

Gives me chills. Some amazing people jumping out of their cars and running up to help, though.

Yes it is great to see people running to help rather than them pulling out their phones to post on social media or take selfies with the collapsed bridge behind them.

 

[Lamima]

Locals: What progress is being made toward recovery of victims who are pinned in vehicles beneath the pedestrian bridge? I'm sure the loved ones of those still missing are losing patience.

This is bugging me. Why is it taking them 10 times longer to recover the dead from under the rubble than it did to construct the bridge to begin with? If I had any family members die in this, I would have my own autopsy to see how long my loved one lived (suffered) after the collapse? And I'd be hiring THE best lawyers out there. It's awful.

 

[DexterMorgan]

The engineering company warned the D.O.T of the cracks but still told them that the bridge was still safe. So there was no way that the city could have done anything besides schedule future bridge maintenance.

 

[jjenny]

This is bugging me. Why is it taking them 10 times longer to recover the dead from under the rubble than it did to construct the bridge to begin with? If I had any family members die in this, I would have my own autopsy to see how long my loved one lived (suffered) after the collapse? And I'd be hiring THE best lawyers out there. It's awful.

Bridge wasn't constructed quickly. It was constructed off site then put in place-apparently not well since it collapsed. And all the best lawyers aren't going to be able to do anything for someone who is dead.

 

[Elley Mae]

“This voicemail was left on a land line and not heard by an FDOT employee until Friday, March 16 as the employee was out of the office on assignment,” the department said in a late evening press release. “When the employee returned to his office today, Friday, March 16, he was able to listen to the voicemail.”

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article205627294.html


This is a lame excuse, department i worked in 40 years ago the secretary had her home phone calls transferred to her work phone. And besides you can retrieve your messages from afar.

I think they will go out of business as they should.

 

[jjenny]

“This voicemail was left on a land line and not heard by an FDOT employee until Friday, March 16 as the employee was out of the office on assignment,” the department said in a late evening press release. “When the employee returned to his office today, Friday, March 16, he was able to listen to the voicemail.”

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article205627294.html


This is a lame excuse, department i worked in 40 years ago the secretary had her home phone calls transferred to her work phone. And besides you can retrieve your messages from afar.

I think they will go out of business as they should.

Department knew about the cracks regardless of voicemail. There was a meeting just before collapse where these cracks were discussed. Although the engineer claim that crack wasn't a safety concern.

"Florida International University said a meeting on Thursday morning involved the engineering and construction companies, as well as Florida's transport department."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43440501

 

[bluesneakers]

(New to me) instagram video of the collapse

[video]http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article205635774.html[/video]


ETA: There's a school bus soooo close... sheesh!

Look at all the people running to help.

 

[MaryG12]

Authorities recover bodies, vehicles from fatal Miami bridge collapse

http://www.mysuncoast.com/news/auth...cle_a1168964-2a0a-11e8-a675-e797e062de84.html

 

[Lamima]

Bridge wasn't constructed quickly. It was constructed off site then put in place-apparently not well since it collapsed. And all the best lawyers aren't going to be able to do anything for someone who is dead.

I don't know. Could maybe ensure that anyone involved with the building of this bridge never builds anything ever again.

 

[Pamela_Brewer]

Gave me chills seeing the bus...

Did you notice all of the workers sliding down on the right side???

[emoji44]

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