Documents Indicate that Florida Department of Transportation Ordered Changes to FIU Bridge Plans in 2016

CBS News reports that construction of the failed bridge at Florida International University (FIU) was running over budget and behind schedule when it collapsed and killed six people last week. The delays were at least in part due to a change in the bridge’s design, which came at the behest of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).

The article cites documents sourced by the Associated Press which indicate that the Florida Department of Transportation ordered the change in October of 2016. The change included moving a key support by 11 feet, which required engineers to modify the bridge’s design in order to allow for road widening.

The article states that “Videos of the collapse show that the concrete, prefabricated segment of the bridge started crumbling on the same end of the span where the tower redesign occurred.” An engineer called the Florida Department of Transportation to report cracks in the bridge in the same location two days before its collapse.

The article suggests that the FDOT changes, along with the construction delays and cost overruns which resulted from it, may have contributed to the bridge’s failure. Despite the new revelations, as of yet the cause of the structure’s collapse has not been officially determined.