Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
At least 4 dead after new FIU pedestrian bridge collapses
Scott, Rubio go to scene, promise to investigate what went wrong
Just five days after it was installed, a 950-ton pedestrian bridge at Florida International University in Miami-Dade County collapsed across eight lanes of traffic Thursday afternoon, killing at least four people, fire officials said.
Eight vehicles were trapped beneath the fallen concrete and nine injured people were pulled from the debris, fire officials said. The victims’ conditions were not released by authorities.
Firefighters got the call for help at 1:30 p.m. Search and rescue crews worked into the night to try to find survivors.
The $14.2 million, 174-foot-long bridge, which FIU said swung into place Saturday, spanned eight lanes of Tamiami Trail near Southwest 109th Avenue. It had not yet opened to the public.
Witness Susie Bermudez told WTVJCh. 6 she was driving toward the bridge that connected the college campus to the city of Sweetwater when she saw it fall.
“There’s probably like seven or eight cars under the bridge, so it was very shocking to me, and I’m very grateful to be alive,” Bermudez said.
Gov. Rick Scott and Sen. Marco Rubio flew to the scene, where they pledged to figure out what led to the collapse.
“There will clearly be an investigation to find out exactly what happened and why this happened and we will hold anybody accountable if anybody has done anything wrong,” Scott said. “But the most important thing we can do right now is pray for the individuals that ended up in the hospital, for their full recovery, and pray for the family members that have lost loved ones.”
Rubio, who has taught at the university as an adjunct professor for the last decade, said the bridge was built as a safety feature after a student was killed while crossing the busy street there last year.
“It was also going to be a signature project, one that people would identify with the school and this community, and one of a kind in terms of its engineering design,” Rubio said. “To see it on the ground there today and underneath it those who lost their lives as a result of this and those who have been injured, it’s just so tragic.
“There will be an exhaustive review that will get details on an engineering and scientific level as to what the errors were and what led to this catastrophic collapse, of that you can rest assured … The public deserves to know and the families of those who have been hurt and lost their lives deserve to know what went wrong.”
It was unknown how long the investigations and reviews would take.
Photographs from the scene showed a partially crushed cranberry-colored sedan, its rear end trapped beneath the rubble, its front end free from debris. The grilles of two other vehicles could be seen beneath the edge of a concrete slab.
Television news reports showed the injured being loaded into ambulances.
More than 100 county rescue workers rushed to the scene. With the aid of special microphones and rescue dogs, they hunted for survivors, officials said.
A team of 15 specialists, including experts in civil engineering, were to arrive Thursday night to investigate the failed bridge, said National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt III. The agency was also sending staff to assist affected families.
“We are shocked and saddened about the tragic events unfolding at the FIU-Sweetwater pedestrian bridge,” FIU said in a news release.
A family reunification center was set up at FIU’s SASC Building, 11200 SW Eighth St., Miami-Dade County Emergency Management said on Twitter. More information for families is available at 305-348-3481.
The span, called the FIUSweetwater UniversityCity Bridge, was built by MCM and designed by FIGG Bridge Engineers, according to FIU. Bolton Perez and Associates were the construction engineering inspectors, according to the state.
FIGG Bridge Engineers said in a news release that it was “stunned by today’s tragic collapse” and that this was a first in its 40-year history.
“Our deepest sympathies are with all those affected by this accident,” the release said. “Our entire team mourns the loss of life and injuries associated with this devastating tragedy, and our prayers go out to all involved.”
MCM, a family business also known as Munilla Construction, tweeted: “Our family’s thoughts and prayers go to out to everyone affected by this terrible tragedy . ... We are all devastated and doing everything we can to assist.”
Records show MCM was sued earlier this month in Miami-Dade Circuit Court for allegedly shoddy construction of a makeshift bridge it built at the Fort Lauderdale airport. Jose Perez sued the general contractor after he fell when the bridge “broke under the weight of the plaintiff, causing him to slip forward, fall to the floor, striking his elbow,” according to the suit, which was filed March 5, The Real Deal, a South Florida real estate publication, reported.
Construction of the bridge began in spring 2017 and was expected to have lasted until next year.
U.S. Congressman Carlos Curbelo, who represents the area, said he was “extremely disconcerted” by the collapse.
“As soon as the immediate needs have been met, we need to get to the bottom of what happened today and ensure that it never happens again,” he said.
The bridge had received a federal TIGER grant in 2013, according to the FIU report.
Five years ago, another South Florida college campus endured a tragic construction accident. A parking garage under construction on the Doral campus of Miami-Dade College collapsed in October 2012, killing at least three workers and injuring seven.