Miami FIU Bridge Collapses; at Least 4 Are Dead
Trump Infrastructure project? #ShoddyConstruction
The graceful pedestrian bridge was swung into place on Saturday. Heralded as a triumph of “accelerated construction,” the walkway would allow pedestrians to safely cross eight lanes of traffic separating the campus of Florida International University from the small city where many of the students lived.
Five days later, around midday Thursday, the walkway collapsed in a pile of 950 tons of metal, concrete and dust, before ever opening to pedestrians. At least four people were killed, according to the Miami-Dade County fire chief, Dave Downey. Some reports put the number of dead at six to 10.
Cars were caught under the bridge when a stoplight turned red at a nearby intersection. Eight of them could be seen poking out from the rubble, in a scene that resembled the aftermath of an earthquake.
Bridges made with the accelerated techniques are not more at risk of collapse than others, but moving them into place causes different stresses than what the bridge would normally have to withstand, said Andy Herrmann, a former president of the American Society of Civil Engineers.