An engineer with the firm that designed a Florida pedestrian bridge warned of cracks in the structure days before deadly collapse
- An engineer with the firm that designed a pedestrian bridge that collapsed in Florida on Thursday called the state to warn of cracks in the structure days before it fell and killed at least six people.
- Denney Pate with the FIGG Bridge Group notified the Florida Department of Transportation on Tuesday to give a heads up about cracks found on the north end of the structure.
- The transportation department released a transcript of the voicemail on Friday.
An engineer with the firm that designed a pedestrian bridge that collapsed in Florida on Thursday called the state transportation department two days earlier to report cracks found on the structure.
Denney Pate with the FIGG Bridge Group said in the voicemail that the cracks were seen on the north end of the bridge. The structure, which was designed to link the Florida International University in Miami with the town of Sweetwater, fell on Thursday, killing at least six people.
In his voicemail to the FDOT, Pate said, "obviously some repairs or whatever will have to be done," but Pate indicated the work was not urgent, saying "from a safety perspective, we don't see that there's any issue there," before adding that the cracks were indeed a problem that needed to be addressed.
The Florida Department of Transportation released a transcript of Pate's message on Friday.
You can listen to the audio of that voicemail here »
The bridge had been heralded as a "marvel" of modern construction before the collapse, due in part to a method of construction that allowed the company to build it quickly and with minimal disruptions to area traffic.