Thread: FIU bridge collapses; fatalities reported, Florida officials say

FIU bridge collapses; fatalities reported, Florida officials say

By Nicole Darrah, Katherine Lam
31 mins ago

Several dead, at least four injured in Miami bridge collapse

First responders search for rubble survivors of catastrophic accident near Florida International University.

Several fatalities were reported after a newly installed pedestrian bridge at Florida International University collapsed Thursday, leaving multiple vehicles trapped underneath the sprawling wreckage.

Florida Highway Patrol confirmed to Fox News there were several fatalities after the structure, called the "Instant Bridge," collapsed just before 2 p.m. at the Miami-area university. No official number was released.

Miami police were told Miami-Dade Fire Rescue had recovered six people with injuries, Fox News confirmed.

Sweetwater Police Department told Fox News: "We're just trying to save lives."

Miami police were told Miami-Dade Fire Rescue had recovered six people with injuries, Fox News confirmed. (WSVN)

Florida Gov. Rick Scott tweeted he's on his way to the university "to be briefed by local law enforcement and university officials," and said he'll "will be in constant communication with law enforcement throughout the day."

A video showed several people being loaded into ambulances. Several doctors and nurses were also called to the scene to assist those injured.

The bridge, projected to be finished in early 2019, was set to link the university’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus to the town of Sweetwater, where an estimated 4,000 students live, the Miami Herald reported. The bridge, a $9.3 million project, was installed on Saturday, with many celebrating the new construction.

The university called it a “one-of its-kind pedestrian bridge” that “swings” into place.

“FIU is about building bridges and student safety. This project accomplishes our mission beautifully,” President Mark B. Rosenberg said, according to a tweet by FIU.

Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart tweeted: “Shocked and distraught by the horrific SW 8 Street bridge collapse. Praying for the victims, and for our first responders who are searching for survivors.”

Munilla Construction, the company that built the bridge, tweeted earlier Thursday that "the local community gathered" on Saturday to watch the bridge move into place. In a follow-up tweet, the company called the bridge collapse a "terrible tragedy" and said the family business is "devastated and doing everything we can to assist."

The construction company added it will cooperating with investigators "in every way."

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is sending a team to investigate the collapse.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/15...cials-say.html

Just horrible. Good grief. Witness says they were stress testing the bridge over cars and vehicles during rush-hour. The crane cable snapped and the stress tester equipment landed on the bridge causing the collapse.

. . . The 174-feet (53-meter) long bridge connects the university with the city of Sweetwater and was installed on Saturday in six hours over the eight-lane highway, according to a report posted on the university's website. . .


https://www.yahoo.com/news/foot-brid...181952337.html

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

. . . The 174-feet (53-meter) long bridge connects the university with the city of Sweetwater and was installed on Saturday in six hours over the eight-lane highway, according to a report posted on the university's website. . .

So what? Prefabricated bridges and buildings are done all the time. The problem here seems to be that they stress tested it, before it was properly completed (there apparently was a center support to be installed) and they allowed cars and pedestrians under it while they were testing it. That is inexcusable.

I'm disturbed by the rescue operation. Last I heard it has been 7 hrs and they are using jack hammers to cut through the concrete to get to people possible still alive and trapped in the cars under it. Many big-rig tow truck have airbags, giant pillows, that they can slip under an overturned truck and lift it. They could have put several air bags under the bridge and lifted it 2 or 3 feet so they could rescue those in cars. That operation would take about a half hour.

From what I saw, they were looking to lift it with a few cranes. But that is risky because the concrete will break around the cables. It looked like they were walking around scratching their heads.

Reuters
Engineer reported cracks in bridge before fatal collapse: transportation agency

The engineer overseeing a newly built footbridge that crumbled onto a Miami roadway, killing at least six people, had called the state Transportation Department two days before the collapse to report cracks found in the span, the agency said on Friday. The 950-ton, $14.2 million pedestrian bridge . . .

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Reuters
Engineer reported cracks in bridge before fatal collapse: transportation agency

The engineer overseeing a newly built footbridge that crumbled onto a Miami roadway, killing at least six people, had called the state Transportation Department two days before the collapse to report cracks found in the span, the agency said on Friday. The 950-ton, $14.2 million pedestrian bridge . . .

He should have called Fox News to alert the people to stay away from the road and the bridge.

I've seen two "experts" on Fox claiming the bridge collapsed because of weak design. One claimed that "pivoting" it 90 degrees to swing it into place damaged it. Bogus! The bridge was supported on a dolly as it was put in place.

Another "expert" said the design made it too weak to support its weight in the middle. Again, bogus! The video I saw, as well as witness statements, were that it fell at one end, not collapse in the middle.

The cracks could be superficial. That message didn't say if it was the bridge itself or the support pillars that was cracked. Projects I have seen, the span sits on a ledge. Did that ledge break off, dropping the bridge, or did the bridge fold at the end? In time, I guess we will find out.

It was either poor engineering or slipshod materials that caused this disaster. On freeways I have been working on, after pouring the concrete, it is covered for about a week to slow the drying. Then it is left to cure for about six months before traffic is allowed on it. When they use fast cure, apparently as was used this year at California's Orville Dam, cracking can occur. They talk about how fast this bridge was built, so I wonder if they used such accelerated techniques.

Some people are using this tragedy to bash women...







A Female-Led Construction Company Built The Florida Bridge That Collapsed

By
Alisha Sherron -

March 16, 2018


Florida has been having its bad stroke of luck as of late. First the horrible tragedy in Parkland, and now this; Florida International University’s “instant bridge,” spontaneously collapsing earlier on Thursday. The two companies responsible for the poorly constructed bridge were MCM and Figg, both have a sketchy history when it comes to construction, but for today’s purposes, we’re going to focus on MCM, because there’s a valuable lesson that can be learned here.
That lesson is this; there are some things that women shouldn’t do. There are some things women can’t do. One of these is construction.
Though MCM is owned by five brothers, a lot of people one rung down the ladder from them are women. Some of the construction workers are even women. How ironic is it then, that earlier this month, MCM was slapped with a lawsuit for hiring “incompetent, inexperienced, unskilled or careless employees.” Fox reports:

The company is building an expansion to Fort Lauderdale International Airport and a worker there was injured when a makeshift bridge collapsed under his weight, the lawsuit says, according to the Winston Salem-Journal.
Leonor Flores, FIU alumna, and MCM project exec says her number one priority when building bridges is to make sure they look pretty. Nothing else matters:

“It’s very important for me as a woman and an engineer to be able to promote that to my daughter because I think women have a different perspective. We’re able to put in an artistic touch and we’re able to build too.”
No. You can’t build things. The bridge collapsed for no other reason than terrible structure. Though the death toll is currently at six, police say that the number is likely to rise. But no, let’s talk about how strong and powerful these women are. This company prides itself on how many women they hire, saying that it’s a big step towards gender equality. That’s not working out so far, is it? There’s a reason you don’t hear about women in construction; they’re not very good at it, and quite frankly, they don’t want to be. Women in MCM promote feminism when it’s convenient; when everybody’s looking tough and ready to conquer the world in their construction hat. But when their projects fail, and lives are lost, everyone wants to focus on all the men in the company. Nobody, not them or the mainstream media is talking about all these women and how they dropped the ball. None of them want to take responsibility, and that makes both the media and these women spineless cowards.

https://squawker.org/culture-wars/a-...hat-collapsed/

and that makes both the media and these women spineless cowards.

Here we go again!

Some women! I must confess,I've had experience with both types. One woman truck driver I used to works with drove for a guy who lost his son in a trucking accident. She drove that truck for about six months, doing what maintenance she could. I helped her with some repairs and was astounded that with the condition of the rear truck suspension, she was able to keep it in a lane. But she did. A few months after she left that job, she was operating a front-end loader on a job I went to. And she was very good at it. After a couple of years, she bought a backhoe. She had her own truck to transport it and was successful at that business, which takes some skill.

On the other hand, we had a couple of women truck drivers on an airport job. They couldn't seem to drive down a runway or taxiway without hitting the border lights. There were constant complaints about them. But since they were women, they couldn't be fired.

At the plant I hauled out of, there was a woman operating much of the construction equipment from trucks to giant loaders. She was good.

But, I understand the accusation that some want pretty. I guess time will tell. This Alisha Sherron must be a woman hater!