Site work for a bridge / tunnel in Miami, Florida. Completed plans call for site work for a bridge / tunnel.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article261077412.html May 04, 2022 Four years after the Florida International University pedestrian bridge collapsed during construction, the state is unveiling designs for a new bridge that would be made of different material. Florida's Department of Transportation will hold its first public meeting Thursday night on a proposal without the novel design blamed in the March 15, 2018, midday collapse that crushed cars on the roadways below and killed six people. Florida announced the replacement bridge project in 2020. Instead of the concrete structure that was considered cutting edge before its failure, the new bridge will be made of traditional steel girders, said Daniel Iglesias, an engineer overseeing state transportation projects in the Miami area. The first bridge was pre-built on a staging area nearby and put into place days before the collapse. Contractors used an "accelerated" construction method as a way to shorten building times and minimize traffic disruption. The new bridge connecting the campus with Sweetwater over Southwest Eighth Street would be built at the site, with planning to take into account Eighth Street traffic disruptions. "We're not contemplating accelerated construction. It will be conventional construction done in phases," Iglesias said. "Road closures and detours will be needed." The Department of Transportation had FIU manage the first bridge project, awarding design and construction to contractor MCM and the Figg engineering firm after the two companies won a bidding contest for the $13 million project. Federal transportation investigators cited design flaws in explaining the collapse, and blamed the contractors, FIU and Florida's Transportation Department for leaving Eighth Street open while construction crews performed emergency repairs on the bridge just before the catastrophe. The National Transportation Safety Board criticized Florida's Transportation Department for outsourcing the project to FIU, noting the school didn't have the engineering staff to provide adequate oversight of contractors. This time, Florida's Department of Transportation said it is directly managing the new project. Sweetwater and FIU are listed as local partners. Designs are more than halfway done for the new bridge, with plans to invite bids for the construction contract in early 2024, Iglesias said. The budget for the new pedestrian bridge is about $15 million. Thursday's meeting starts at 6 p.m. at Ronselli Park, 250 SW 114th Ave. in Sweetwater. Dave Beck, a retired structural engineer in Bennington, N.H., who has studied the FIU bridge collapse, said Florida's new plans for a bridge sound far more generic and traditional than the first one. "Making a pedestrian bridge doesn't have to be that complicated," he said. "Using steel instead of concrete, that's the way to go." Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article261077412.html#storylink=cpy _________________________________________________________ https://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article249539373.html Almost three years after six people were killed when a pedestrian bridge collapsed at Florida International University, plans are moving forward for a new one in the same location. In a meeting this week, the university's board of trustees approved the transfer of $9.1 million to the Florida Department of Transportation, which will oversee the design and construction of the bridge, the Miami Herald reported. The bridge was under construction when the 950-ton span collapsed onto a busy Miami highway on March 15, 2018, trapping cars that had been stopped at a traffic light underneath. One construction worker and five people sitting in their cars were killed. The new bridge will span the same highway, connecting the university's Modesto A. Maidique Campus to the downtown area of a Miami suburb. The Herald reported the university got the $9.1 million from different sources, including $8.5 million from the settlement with the contractors on the failed bridge. Last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis authorized the Florida Department of Transportation to "accept responsibility for completing the new bridge and administering the design and construction contracts," according to the resolution approved Tuesday by the university's board. ________________ https://apnews.com/6bdf8c2ed2e43c9215be823306ebc41c Florida officials on Wednesday announced plans to design and build a pedestrian bridge to replace one that collapsed and killed six people two years ago in Miami. The Florida Department of Transportation said in a statement that it would manage and oversee all aspects of the project, and follow federal officials' recommendations given last year. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded last November that design flaws and a lack of oversight led to the collapse of the Florida International University bridge on March 15, 2018. The bridge was still under construction when its concrete span fell and smashed eight cars. Ten other people were also injured.The board's final report blamed both the design firm for miscalculating a load on a key section of the bridge, as well as the company hired to conduct an independent review for not catching the problems. The NTSB report also said the company that was hired to independently review the design was mistakenly listed as qualified by the state transportation department, even though it wasn't. "FDOT has learned valuable lessons since the tragic events surrounding the FIU bridge collapse two years ago. The Department has worked closely with the NTSB and local partners to ensure proactive safety measures are included in the plans for this much-needed bridge," said Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Kevin J. Thibault in the statement. The design phase will begin in 2021, and the replacement bridge is expected to be built in about two years. The university had previously said the new bridge will memorialize the victims _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ FHWAFY 2013 TIGER GRANT Site work for an educational facility in Miami, Florida. Completed plans call for site work for a bridge / tunnel.