Friday marks six years since the deadly collapse of a pedestrian bridge near the campus of Florida International University in southwest Miami-Dade that claimed the lives of six people.
A moment of silence was held Friday afternoon at FIU to honor the victims of the March 15, 2018 collapse.
The 174-foot-long, 950-ton pedestrian bridge collapsed while under construction. National Transportation and Safety Board officials later concluded the design firm underestimated the load of the bridge and overestimated its strength in a critical section that splintered.
The victims included five people who were sitting in the cars underneath the bridge while stopped at a traffic light: Alberto Arias, 53, Brandon Brownfield, 39, FIU student Alexa Duran, 18, Rolando Fraga, 60, and his partner Oswaldo Gonzalez, 57. Construction worker Navaro Brown, 37, was also killed in the collapse.
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Plans are in the works for a new bridge that will span the same location, crossing Southwest 8th Street at Southwest 109th Avenue. The goal of the bridge is to help make it safer for students and staff to cross from FIU’s main campus to residential towers and student housing located across Southwest 8th Street.
Construction is expected to begin in 2024 and last for about two years. A memorial plaque honoring the victims of the bridge collapse will be placed on the new bridge when it is constructed.
