1,166,828 @ 10:27 am
1,166,791 @ 9:42 am
mcm built bridge in a few hours
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article205432029.html
— “Did construction technique lead to FIU pedestrian bridge
collapse?,” by Miami Herald’s By Andres Viglucci, Joey Flechas, Jenny
Staletovich and Rene Rodriguez: “The unfinished pedestrian overpass
that toppled onto the Tamiami Trail on Thursday was being built under a
relatively novel approach called accelerated bridge construction — a
fast, tested method that carries some risks if not rigorously carried
out. Until it’s fully secured, a quick-build structure is unstable and
requires the utmost precision as construction continues. Properly
shoring up the bridge can take weeks, a period during which even small
mistakes can compound and cause a partial or total collapse, said Amjad
Aref, a researcher at University at Buffalo's Institute of Bridge
Engineering.” Read more
POLITICAL BOMBSHELL — FIU and the main firms involved with the bridge collapse, MCM, are as politically connected as they get in Florida. FIU is a few miles from the home of Sen. Marco Rubio, who teaches a political science class there, rushed to the scene and even tweeted inside information about what might have led to the collapse. Gov. Rick Scott was also in town, made his way to the scene and distanced
the state Department of Transportation from the fiasco, which he made
clear was under FIU’s watch. The bridge connected the districts shared
by two more Republican congressmen, Reps. Carlos Curbelo and Mario Diaz-Balart, a so-called House “cardinal” for transportation budget projects. FIU’s former law school dean, Alex Acosta, is now the U.S. Labor Secretary.
— “Scott, Rubio promise ‘exhaustive’ probe of ‘catastrophic’ FIU
bridge collapse,” by POLITICO Florida’s Daniel Ducassi and Sergio
Bustos: Read more