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| Crack on Florida Bridge Was Discussed in Meeting Hours Before Collapse | Crack on Florida Bridge Was Discussed in Meeting Hours Before Collapse |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| MIAMI — Hours before the collapse of a pedestrian bridge at Florida International University on Thursday, the engineering company for the bridge held a meeting to discuss a crack on the structure, according to a statement from the university released early Saturday. | MIAMI — Hours before the collapse of a pedestrian bridge at Florida International University on Thursday, the engineering company for the bridge held a meeting to discuss a crack on the structure, according to a statement from the university released early Saturday. |
| The engineering company, Figg Bridge Engineers, delivered a technical presentation on the crack, and “concluded there were no safety concerns and the crack did not compromise the structural integrity of the bridge,” the statement said. | The engineering company, Figg Bridge Engineers, delivered a technical presentation on the crack, and “concluded there were no safety concerns and the crack did not compromise the structural integrity of the bridge,” the statement said. |
| The construction manager on the project and representatives from the university and the state Department of Transportation attended the two-hour meeting, which was led by Figg’s lead engineer on the project, W. Denney Pate. | The construction manager on the project and representatives from the university and the state Department of Transportation attended the two-hour meeting, which was led by Figg’s lead engineer on the project, W. Denney Pate. |
| Two days earlier, Mr. Pate left a voice mail message for the Transportation Department about “some cracking that’s been observed on the north end” of the bridge, according to a recording from the department released Friday. At both the meeting and in his message, Mr. Pate said the cracking did not present any safety issues. | Two days earlier, Mr. Pate left a voice mail message for the Transportation Department about “some cracking that’s been observed on the north end” of the bridge, according to a recording from the department released Friday. At both the meeting and in his message, Mr. Pate said the cracking did not present any safety issues. |
| The Transportation Department said the message was not heard until Friday morning. A spokesman for the agency, Dick Kane, said in an email that its representative at the meeting the day before, Alfredo Reyna, was a consultant whose role was chiefly to keep the project on schedule. | The Transportation Department said the message was not heard until Friday morning. A spokesman for the agency, Dick Kane, said in an email that its representative at the meeting the day before, Alfredo Reyna, was a consultant whose role was chiefly to keep the project on schedule. |
| “While Reyna is a professional engineer, he does not have control over the project and relies on the expertise of the licensed engineer of record,” Mr. Kane said. | “While Reyna is a professional engineer, he does not have control over the project and relies on the expertise of the licensed engineer of record,” Mr. Kane said. |
| At no point during their communications, the department said, “did Figg or any member of the F.I.U. design-build team ever communicate a life-safety issue.” | At no point during their communications, the department said, “did Figg or any member of the F.I.U. design-build team ever communicate a life-safety issue.” |
| Whether the cracking contributed to the collapse, which killed at least six people, remains a key question in the investigation. | |
| Construction crews were working on a diagonal beam at the north end of the structure at or about the time of the collapse, according to information the National Transportation Safety Board provided to local members of Congress. Workers were tightening cables that ran inside the beam. | Construction crews were working on a diagonal beam at the north end of the structure at or about the time of the collapse, according to information the National Transportation Safety Board provided to local members of Congress. Workers were tightening cables that ran inside the beam. |
| Such adjustments, which engineers call “post-tensioning,” are common in concrete designs to fine-tune the structure once it is in place. In this case, however, it was not clear whether the cable-tightening was routine or an urgent undertaking in response to the discovery of the crack in the bridge. | Such adjustments, which engineers call “post-tensioning,” are common in concrete designs to fine-tune the structure once it is in place. In this case, however, it was not clear whether the cable-tightening was routine or an urgent undertaking in response to the discovery of the crack in the bridge. |
| Around the same time the meeting was starting, about 9 a.m., Jorge Mesa, a 31-year-old university employee, said he was in his car near the bridge when he heard “a cracking-whip kind of sound.” He looked to his right and saw one of the construction workers on the street. | Around the same time the meeting was starting, about 9 a.m., Jorge Mesa, a 31-year-old university employee, said he was in his car near the bridge when he heard “a cracking-whip kind of sound.” He looked to his right and saw one of the construction workers on the street. |
| The worker’s face, Mr. Mesa said, seemed to say, “Um, that’s not normal.” | The worker’s face, Mr. Mesa said, seemed to say, “Um, that’s not normal.” |
| “When he gave me that face, I got the chills all the way down my body,” he said. | “When he gave me that face, I got the chills all the way down my body,” he said. |
| The bridge came down that afternoon. | The bridge came down that afternoon. |
| Witnesses said the collapse appeared to start near the north end. But no one, including the N.T.S.B., has so far placed any blame for the collapse on the cables or cable-tightening work. | Witnesses said the collapse appeared to start near the north end. But no one, including the N.T.S.B., has so far placed any blame for the collapse on the cables or cable-tightening work. |
| Early on Saturday, recovery crews extracted the first two crushed vehicles from under the rubble. | Early on Saturday, recovery crews extracted the first two crushed vehicles from under the rubble. |
| “We’ve discovered three bodies within those two vehicles,” Juan J. Perez, director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, said at a news conference on Saturday. “Currently we are working on the removal of two more vehicles.” | “We’ve discovered three bodies within those two vehicles,” Juan J. Perez, director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, said at a news conference on Saturday. “Currently we are working on the removal of two more vehicles.” |
| Mr. Perez said he hoped to finish that work in the next 12 hours. | Mr. Perez said he hoped to finish that work in the next 12 hours. |
| “It’s going to be a long process,” he said. | “It’s going to be a long process,” he said. |
| The Police Department identified one victim in the first vehicle, Roland Fraga Hernandez, and two in the second vehicle, Oswald Gonzalez, 57, and Alberto Arias, 53. | |
| Six vehicles remain trapped under the bridge, with four of them very difficult to extract, Maurice Kemp, deputy mayor of Miami-Dade County, said. | Six vehicles remain trapped under the bridge, with four of them very difficult to extract, Maurice Kemp, deputy mayor of Miami-Dade County, said. |
| One of the six victims, Navarro Brown, was part of the crew working on the bridge; he died at the hospital. Another, Alexa Duran, who is presumed dead in her car, was a freshman at F.I.U. | One of the six victims, Navarro Brown, was part of the crew working on the bridge; he died at the hospital. Another, Alexa Duran, who is presumed dead in her car, was a freshman at F.I.U. |
| The number of known victims has not changed, Mr. Kemp said. “We anticipated that we would have three victims in those two vehicles,” he said. | The number of known victims has not changed, Mr. Kemp said. “We anticipated that we would have three victims in those two vehicles,” he said. |
| Workers covered the vehicles in black sheeting and towed them to the medical examiner to identify the remains of any victims inside. | Workers covered the vehicles in black sheeting and towed them to the medical examiner to identify the remains of any victims inside. |
| The police identified the first vehicle as a Jeep Cherokee, nearly flattened but still distinguishable by its front grill, according to videos by The Miami Herald and local television news outlets. | The police identified the first vehicle as a Jeep Cherokee, nearly flattened but still distinguishable by its front grill, according to videos by The Miami Herald and local television news outlets. |
| The second vehicle, crumpled almost beyond recognition, was a Chevrolet pickup truck. Cranes lifted the vehicles onto flatbed trucks, which were escorted to the medical examiner by a police motorcade. | The second vehicle, crumpled almost beyond recognition, was a Chevrolet pickup truck. Cranes lifted the vehicles onto flatbed trucks, which were escorted to the medical examiner by a police motorcade. |
| The crews placed a white tent with black sheets along three sides to shield the vehicles from view while they were being pulled from under the concrete, according to The Herald video. | The crews placed a white tent with black sheets along three sides to shield the vehicles from view while they were being pulled from under the concrete, according to The Herald video. |
| On the Florida International University campus, Joseph Smitha was walking around in a daze. His niece, Ms. Duran, remained under the debris of the bridge a block away. | On the Florida International University campus, Joseph Smitha was walking around in a daze. His niece, Ms. Duran, remained under the debris of the bridge a block away. |
| Mr. Smitha, a 55-year-old auto parts manager, had spent the night in his truck after making the four-hour drive from Palm Harbor, Fla., fitfully mourning Ms. Duran, a freshman at the university. | Mr. Smitha, a 55-year-old auto parts manager, had spent the night in his truck after making the four-hour drive from Palm Harbor, Fla., fitfully mourning Ms. Duran, a freshman at the university. |
| “Her mom is a wreck,” he said. “I’ll never hear her say, ‘Hi, Uncle Joe,’ again. I know it’s not going to bring my niece back, but how did this happen?” | “Her mom is a wreck,” he said. “I’ll never hear her say, ‘Hi, Uncle Joe,’ again. I know it’s not going to bring my niece back, but how did this happen?” |
| Mr. Smitha and members of other victims’ families are being given temporary quarters in a university building equipped with cots and snacks, awaiting news that none of them want to hear. | Mr. Smitha and members of other victims’ families are being given temporary quarters in a university building equipped with cots and snacks, awaiting news that none of them want to hear. |
| “I still think the kid is going to surface,” he said, referring to his niece. “Maybe she’s at some friend’s house. ‘Hey, you had us scared,’ I’ll say to her. I’d give everything I have to bring her back. It just kills me that this is something that could have been prevented.” | “I still think the kid is going to surface,” he said, referring to his niece. “Maybe she’s at some friend’s house. ‘Hey, you had us scared,’ I’ll say to her. I’d give everything I have to bring her back. It just kills me that this is something that could have been prevented.” |