Warning on bridge went unheeded
Voicemail from lead engineer described ‘cracking’ at pylon
A lead engineer responsible for a pedestrian bridge that collapsed near Miami left a voicemail message for a state transportation official two days before the crash warning of “some cracking,” state officials said Friday night.
The engineer with the private contractor FIGG did not consider it a safety issue, he said. The message was not retrieved until Friday because the Florida Department of Transportation official to whom the voicemail was directed was out of the office on assignment, the state agency said. The message was left on a land line.
“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,” the engineer said, according to a transcript of the call.
“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.”
FIGG Bridge Group designed the bridge. An outside public relations representative for the company said Friday night that FIGG executives are conferring on a response.
The company added— in an apparent reference to its engineer’s conclusion that safety was not an issue — that “the evaluation was based on the best available information at that time.”
The company’s statement said employees are “heartbroken by the loss of life,” and pledged: “We will pursue answers to find out what factors led to this tragic situation.”
Pate did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
In its statement, the transportation agency pointed to another potential missed opportunity to identify problems.
On Thursday, shortly before the bridge collapsed, a consultant to the department met with members of the team responsible for the project. There was no mention of safety concerns regarding the structure at that meeting, the state said.