FLA bridge collapse

[Mb125]

Who signed off on this one....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCXwC6Bs9zk

[Gach]

Just watch it on news. It’s not their first they’ve had a number of issues. Unbelievable

[sprint250]

So who is at fault here?
If the general contractor built it as per plans & specs and it was inspected as per plans & specs and nothing was cheated on the fault lies with the design engineers.
The Span was an entirely pre-cast hollow tube structure with cast in concrete beams that was moved into position and then jacked into place on the end supports.
Couple of other possibilities could have hastened the failure.
If the concrete was not the right design mix ,hard to believe with all the inspections required for that type of civil engineering work.
The mix has to be tested /sampled to see if it meets the design concrete specs before it leaves the mix plant in the transports.
Was the correct strength reinforcing steel used?
Was the re-bar tie wired/fastened together properly?

Was the form work and shoring on the casting stripped off too soon and the bridge span moved before the concrete was up to full strength to withstand the stresses of being moved and then hoisted/jacked (properly?) into position?
Maybe due an over ambitious construction schedule?

So An untested , unproven fatally flawed design with not enough safety factor built in to it.
Add in possible construction defects and
bad method of operation = a recipe for disaster.
The bridge was not yet ready for public service.

When I saw the span, its shape & length I said to myself "where's the span's center support column?" .
There were no visible built in arches to carry the load like most long spans with no center supports use.Those types are almost always cast in place and require elaborate false work & shoring that all have to be built and placed before the span can be cast/poured.
The false work will stay in place for months until the concrete sample breaks are performed at an engineering destructive testing lab.
Wasthe supported & reinforced concrete shade roof on the top of the span supposed to act as a stressed spine for the center span? If it was it obviously failed.

I have worked on parking structures where the floor panels are all pre-cast post tensioned with cables to give the panel a pre-loaded arch . They are delivered by trucks then and flown in to place on the columns and beams with a crane.The Span-Crete beams & panels get tied into the columns with weld plates. and a topping slab poured on top of the panels.
Has to support its on weight + the dead load of all the cars paring on it + the live load of people & cars traveling through it.

In my eyes the Florida "pedestrian bridge" looked way over spanned for its girth.
Bet the smart sensors that were built in to monitor the bridge condition were not even 100% active yet.

Tragic

[Mb125]

That and companies want to hire the cheapest unskilled workers they can find

[Gach]

They said on the news tonight ( if I heard them right ) part of the design was done right at the school. But that company has law suits on going for not using Specified spec’s I mean who knows those poor people

[sprint250]

This one is gonna be in court for years.
Every sub contractor that worked on that job and every material supplier is going to have to lawyer up just to protect themselves from being sued.
The families of the people who died or were injured will hire attorneys and sue the university ,the state and anyone else they can name that has deep pockets.
The state will go after the civil engineering design firm , the inspectors(hired by the state)& the general contractor. The general contractor will then turn around and enjoin all the sub contractors in the lawsuit and also counter sue the design engineers and the state because the design was part of the university's school of engineering class project (?) even if they played a minor role in the project and had the over sight of a professional civil engineering firm.
There will be no winners.
The attorneys will get paid for sure though.

[Gach]

Big mess !! unfortunately lives were lost. Can’t put a price tag on that, most definitely the lawsuit are warntted. The company involved has other Pending lawsuits. Sad isn’t it, that innocent people have to die.

[JSPONT]

Company was headed by a woman and women built it. They will be out of business.

[Gach]

As they should be