Florida International University bridge collapses; fatalities reported – IOTW Report

Florida International University bridge collapses; fatalities reported

FOX: Several fatalities were reported after a newly installed pedestrian bridge at Florida International University collapsed Thursday, leaving eight 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 around 1:30 p.m. at the Miami-area university.  more

54 Comments on Florida International University bridge collapses; fatalities reported

  1. My first thought too Claudia. The construction company, Munilla Conatruction Management, released a statement offering thoughts and prayers (oh, and waivers too).
    It’s reported the bridge was erected just this past weekend.

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  2. Know that glass skywalk thing at Grand Canyon or on some skyscrapers? NOT ENOUGH MONEY IN THE WORLD TO GET ME ON ONE. But a ped bridge? This is horrible. And the thing was JUST built? I hope charges are filed.

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  3. I’m moving to a no bridge city. No reason anyone should be around such needlessly high structures that are designed specifically to kill. Plus they are scary, should be reserved only for military use.

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  4. The saddest part of it is pedestrian bridges are “feel good” measures. People don’t use them when they are not forced to. They have put them in alone Auraura Ave N in Seattle and also have put Jersey barriers down the middle of the street to force their usage and people still dash across instead of making the climb before crossing. At a college it would never have been used by 5% of the pedestrians unless a 6′ chain link fence from intersection to intersection were preventing dash across mid block.

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  5. @Claudia: We have the same problem here in California with the new Oakland Bay Bridge. Cheap steel from China!

    The assembly work in California, and the pouring of the concrete road surface, will be done by Americans. But construction of the bridge decks and the materials that went into them are a Made in China affair. California officials say the state saved hundreds of millions of dollars by turning to China.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/business/global/26bridge.html

    UC Berkeley professors of engineering stated that the bridge is not safe and they would not allow their families to drive on it. I’m not surprised at the collapse of the bridge in Florida. there’s been others that have collapsed in recent years.

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  6. One company Munilla is involved in a lawsuit for a bridge they put up in the airport. It collapsed and injured someone. Another company, Figg Bridge Group had a Virginia bridge collapse in 2012.

    In other news, Donald Trump Jr’s wife just filed for divorce.

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  7. Doesn’t look at all like a tension failure in the lower member. Steel tendon may not have been correctly prestressed, but there are no indications it ripped apart at the bottom. All indications look like compression failure in top member to me.

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  8. I think the bridge was still under construction and the cables to stabilize it and support the span were not in place but I could see them on the illustration of how the bridge would look.

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  9. The engineers were stress testing the bridge without stopping

    Traffic underneath..It failed as soon as they started.

    Inspectors in South Florida usually just get an envelope of

    cash, and skip the actual inspections.

    Hopefully see some folks in jail.

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  10. Florida, Skeletor(Nelson), is calling for more bridge control as the bridge went on a killing spree similar to what happened to the city of parkland. Early reports say the bridge was going after illegal immigrants.
    I’m personally calling for legislation to increase controls on bridge loop holes, unregistered bridges, bridges purchased illegally and brought to south Florida.

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  11. This is a an embarrassment to American Engineering. This is Turd World, Shit Hole Stuff
    A few questions:
    Who proposed it?
    Who approved it?
    What was the purpose of it?
    Who financed it?
    Who designed it?
    Who built it?
    What materials were used?
    Who inspected it’s construction?
    Who made the money?
    Disgracefull!

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  12. @DHasty MARCH 15, 2018 AT 5:44 PM
    “Looks like compression failure in the top member. Crappy concrete? Void that was undetected? Poor quality aggregate?”

    I don’t thinks so. It looks more like a shear failure at the one end (where the deck is on the ground) occurred first, then the top chord failed.

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  13. The concrete cracked and split in many places. did anyone see the rebar that is supposed to hold it together? Concrete mesh? There should have been metal bars sprouting out everywhere.
    What kind of connectors were used to hold the pieces in place – not seen, either.
    the whole thing resembled a long piece of poured concrete.
    it looked like a someone stepped on a crushed cookie.

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  14. @eternal cracker p

    You ain’t movin’ to Pittsburgh then – we’re THE City of Bridges!

    And they recently built a bridge JUST like this, over the Turnpike north of the city! 😮 😮 😮

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  15. @srdem65: When the Oroville Dam spillway failed, they found many defects in the concrete and the lack of rebar in many places. In some areas, the concrete was only 12 inches thick. The spillway was built cheaply, and they knew it. Now $1 billion dollars later, let’s see what happens during the nest 50 years of neglect.

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  16. Many prayers for the departed and the injured, and for their surviving loved ones. This is just terrible.

    And a reminder: Job 14:5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;

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  17. “The engineers were stress testing the bridge without stopping

    Traffic underneath..It failed as soon as they started.”

    Are you f’n kidding me? That right there is CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE.

    Tony R,

    “It looks more like a shear failure at the one end (where the deck is on the ground) occurred first, then the top chord failed.”

    Could be. I have been really busy all day and only got a quick look at it. If my hay fever lets up I will try to get a look at some photos this evening. I used to work for Concrete Technology Corp in Tacoma, one of the world’s premier pre stress concrete firms. I noticed that there are large ducts running lengthwise in the upper member. Maybe to reduce weight in that member??

    Concrete Tech
    http://www.concretetech.com/about-ctc/history

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  18. Instant potatoes, instant rice, instant breakfast, instant approval, instant karma…… Hell, even instant grits are fine…. but an instant bridge????

    “Speaking the truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act.” Geo. Orwell

  19. Finally got a look at video of it coming apart.

    Compression failure in top member or perhaps a connection failure or punch through of the connection – what precipitated it is the only question

    This connection is a solid connection and not pinned, it could have been compromised when being jockeying it around into position

    Definitely not sheer at the end or bottom cord failure

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/miami-bridge-collapse-video-twitter-death-toll-survivors-rubble-florida-international-university-a8258746.html

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