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Pedestrian bridge collapses at FIU

Was just about to post this. Ugh. Heart goes out to the families/those that were injured/killed.

As a structural engineer, my first thought beyond the people involved goes to the cause. Was it a design flaw? Construction flaw? Time will tell.
 
mj4cy said:
Was just about to post this. Ugh. Heart goes out to the families/those that were injured/killed.

As a structural engineer, my first thought beyond the people involved goes to the cause. Was it a design flaw? Construction flaw? Time will tell.
Click to expand...

It's always construction's fault, right ;)
 
The bridge was designed by Figg Engineering, who are world-renowned bridge designers. They also designed the new I-35W bridge in Minneapolis.

The "program offered at FIU" is just referencing the Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) part of the project, which FIU has been a leader in for many years. For this particular bridge the ABC portion was building the main span off on the side and moving it into place using Self-Propelled Modular Transports (SPMT's).

 
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I know you're joking, but in my experience, I've seen issues on both sides. As a design engineer, you wouldn't believe the critical things I saw on observations that were missed by contractors.


That's not to say engineers over the years haven't made fatal mistakes as well (gusset plate design at the I-35 W bridge in Minneapolis - or the Hyatt Hotel in KC).


Key is communication. An engineer is only as good as the product put in the field. The better his drawings/calculations are along with communication during construction, the more successful the project.
 
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Reactions: clonefromNE, oldman and aauummm
There are so many sinkholes in Florida, I would wonder about solid footings for the bridge. It’s developing a swamp.
 
Seems like a lot of bridge span length for the amount of run-up and support at each end, but I'm sure they tested the span strength. Maybe an issue at the connection point?
 
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Reactions: ArgentCy
This looks like some sort of major flaw in the installation plan. They just put this section into place last Saturday. Now judging from the model there are supposed to be suspension cables to support the entire structure but those weren't in yet. So it appears they removed all the supports holding it up so traffic could continue on Monday leaving that long span to just support itself.

https://news.fiu.edu/2018/03/first-of-its-kind-pedestrian-bridge-swings-into-place/120385

bridge-777x437.jpg
 
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Cyclones_R_GR8 said:
This looks like some sort of major flaw in the installation plan. They just put this section into place last Saturday. Now judging from the model there are supposed to be suspension cables to support the entire structure but those weren't in yet. So it appears they removed all the supports holding it up so traffic could continue on Monday leaving that long span to just support itself.

https://news.fiu.edu/2018/03/first-of-its-kind-pedestrian-bridge-swings-into-place/120385

View attachment 54003
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That would be quite the oversight on someone's part
 
Cyclones_R_GR8 said:
This looks like some sort of major flaw in the installation plan. They just put this section into place last Saturday. Now judging from the model there are supposed to be suspension cables to support the entire structure but those weren't in yet. So it appears they removed all the supports holding it up so traffic could continue on Monday leaving that long span to just support itself.

https://news.fiu.edu/2018/03/first-of-its-kind-pedestrian-bridge-swings-into-place/120385

View attachment 54003
Click to expand...

Wtf? It looks like the only thing holding it up was the deck.
 
CyArob said:
That would be quite the oversight on someone's part
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I know but I am just going by what I can see in pictures and making a guess. We'll have to wait for the official statement. Not sure how many people were injured or worse. Awful situation. I can't imagine how all the people involved feel.
 
Cyclones_R_GR8 said:
This looks like some sort of major flaw in the installation plan. They just put this section into place last Saturday. Now judging from the model there are supposed to be suspension cables to support the entire structure but those weren't in yet. So it appears they removed all the supports holding it up so traffic could continue on Monday leaving that long span to just support itself.

https://news.fiu.edu/2018/03/first-of-its-kind-pedestrian-bridge-swings-into-place/120385

View attachment 54003
Click to expand...

Yeah, i'm no engineer but from my extensive bridge builder game experience that seems like a **** up.
 
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Cyclones_R_GR8 said:
This looks like some sort of major flaw in the installation plan. They just put this section into place last Saturday. Now judging from the model there are supposed to be suspension cables to support the entire structure but those weren't in yet. So it appears they removed all the supports holding it up so traffic could continue on Monday leaving that long span to just support itself.

https://news.fiu.edu/2018/03/first-of-its-kind-pedestrian-bridge-swings-into-place/120385

View attachment 54003
Click to expand...

So it was missing the whole suspension portion? I'm not an engineer, but that seems like a terrible idea to open it to any traffic on or under until that was up.
 
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