Florida school aware of bridge crack before collapse that killed six

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

U.S. MARCH 17, 2018 / 11:35 AM / UPDATED 7 HOURS AGO

Florida school aware of bridge crack before collapse that killed six

Zachary Fagenson
3 MIN READ

MIAMI (Reuters) - Engineers and state and university officials met hours before a new pedestrian bridge collapsed in southern Florida, killing six people, but concluded a crack in the structure was not a safety concern, Florida International University said on Saturday.

The meeting on Thursday involved FIGG, which is the private contractor for the overall bridge design, the school, Florida Department of Transportation officials and Munilla Construction Management, which installed the $14.2 million bridge.

A FIGG engineer “concluded there were no safety concerns and the crack did not compromise the structural integrity of the bridge,” the university said in a statement.

About three hours after the meeting ended, the 950-ton bridge collapsed, crushing vehicles stopped at a traffic light on the eight-lane roadway below.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-florida-bridge/florida-school-aware-of-bridge-crack-before-collapse-that-killed-six-idUSKCN1GT0KG

[Demovictory9]

1. Wrong conclusion

[elehhhhna]

4. ConcreTe get surface cracks

Why they were executing post tensioning (which can blowout), with people nearby, is the big question. Homebuilders know not to do thsi... concrete and post tensioning contractors know it. Wtf?

[petronius]

2. Hindsight is 20-20 of course, but it does seem like an unexpected crack in

a brand-new, partially-completed, innovative structure, suspended over people, would pretty much automatically be a safety concern...

[KT2000]

3. other engineers grieve

when something like this happens because they know there was a mistake made that should have been caught. The also know that this is what happens when pressures are applied from above. Most want to do the safest and most accurate work but they all face pressures that could possibly get them fired if they don't go along. The whistleblowers just become another news story when they try to warn people. Ho hum.
This engineer was not up to the task and FIGG should be toast after the investigation is completed.

[JI7]

5. "Concluded a crack in the structure was not a safety concern"

How did they conclude that ?

[Ron Green]

6. The cause of these deaths is the primacy of auto traffic.

It’s the reason the road wasn’t closed during “stress testing,” the reason the bridge was built in the unusual off-site fashion, and the reason there needed to be a bridge in the first place.

Florida is a place, like many others since WW II, where development occurs with the automobile first in mind.

[msongs]

7. the cause is the collapse of a crappy bridge. car driving victims are not to blame here nt

[Ron Green]

8. We are all to blame for building a world on cheap oil. n/t