# Instant bridge--just add disaster. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 15, 2018, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618 "2018-03-15T19:11:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/81 "2018-03-20T00:02:55Z")
They have identified six victims. Not sure if the road has reopened. [https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2018-03-19/florida-school-plans-moment-of-silence-for-bridge-collapse-victims](https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2018-03-19/florida-school-plans-moment-of-silence-for-bridge-collapse-victims) > [@](#): > > Students returned to Florida International University on Monday for their first day of classes since a newly installed pedestrian bridge collapsed last week and killed six people including a student at the school. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/82 "2018-03-20T06:35:31Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > When I look at that model, it looks to me like the cables are going through conduits to ultimately anchor to the main deck. So, yeah, I think they were intended to provide support to the whole structure. Guys, please stop propagating the myth that this was a cable-stay bridge. The concrete truss structure is the beginning, the end, and everything inbetween of the support structure. The “cables” that would be installed later are 100% decorative **pipes**. The idea is to have a bridge that is visually matching with surrounding buildings, bright white at day, and that makes a suitable display surface for colored light shows on the white surfaces at night. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/83 "2018-03-20T07:17:36Z")
Slow motion dashcam of the collapse: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/D6pGzgm4zZ4/hqdefault.jpg "FIU BRIDGE PHOTOGRAMMETRY FRAME01 - FRAME17 (slow motion)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6pGzgm4zZ4) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/84 "2018-03-20T09:00:49Z")
> [@MarvinKitFox](#): > > Guys, please stop propagating the myth that this was a cable-stay bridge. > The concrete truss structure is the beginning, the end, and everything inbetween of the support structure. > > The “cables” that would be installed later are 100% decorative **pipes**. > The idea is to have a bridge that is visually matching with surrounding buildings, bright white at day, and that makes a suitable display surface for colored light shows on the white surfaces at night. Do you have a citation to support this assertion? ETA: OK, I found it myself: [Miami bridge collapse: Truss design, despite suspension appearance](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/03/16/miami-bridge-collapse-suspension-cables-support-tower/431418002/) \ until this correction, the notion that the cables were structurally necessary was not an unreasonable assumption. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/85 "2018-03-20T09:10:22Z")
Well, there’s your problem. 😉 The thing would still be in the air if it had been designed with a central tower and cable suspension. Most of the comments from Engineers (on the news) has been about the missing central tower. Sent from the mobile client - Forum Talker [![](https://i.imgflip.com/xhss9.jpg) ](https://i.imgflip.com/xhss9.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/86 "2018-03-20T09:15:47Z")
Exactly. The argument “It didn’t actually need anything else to hold it up” seems a bit impotent in the face of the fact that it fell down. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/87 "2018-03-20T09:32:09Z")
This one of those times the officials need to at least inform the public what they think went wrong. Their working theory. Forcing the public to wait a year for the results of a through investigation isn’t going to instill much confidence in new construction. It’s been my experience (in data processing) that it’s very likely a working theory will eventually be validated. I usually have a pretty good idea what went wrong and it doesn’t take long to confirm the problem. Problem solving is a big part of my job. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/88 "2018-03-20T09:39:00Z")
I suspect this investigation will take a long time. They’ll be lawsuits in the courts for years to come. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/89 "2018-03-20T12:31:32Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Forcing the public to wait a year for the results of a through investigation isn’t going to instill much confidence in new construction. The fact that the vast majority of the other structures we build don’t spontaneously collapse should lend plenty of confidence that engineers and construction crews generally know what they’re doing. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/90 "2018-03-20T14:16:40Z")
> [@MarvinKitFox](#): > > The “cables” that would be installed later are 100% decorative **pipes**. Thank you, I don’t think this was brought up in this thread until you did. Looking it as a truss bridge, the angle of the trusses look sub-optimal, since they are aligned with the decorative “cables” for aesthetics. Especially near the end where all the pillars are slanted in the same direction. I don’t recall ever seen that in a truss bridge. I’m not suggesting this was a contributing cause to the collapse, but I wonder how much weight (and cost) this added to the design… ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/91 "2018-03-23T17:26:35Z")
A foul-mouthed Canadian with amusing pronunciation of certain words makes [a pretty compelling case in this Youtube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtiTm2dKLgU&feature=youtu.be) for the failure being due to the over-tightening of tension rods, which really should not have been going on with traffic flowing underneath. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/92 "2018-03-23T18:26:29Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > A foul-mouthed Canadian with amusing pronunciation of certain words makes [a pretty compelling case in this Youtube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtiTm2dKLgU&feature=youtu.be) for the failure being due to the over-tightening of tension rods, which really should not have been going on with traffic flowing underneath. [It is now confirmed](http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article206280134.html) that is what they were adjusting at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/93 "2018-03-23T18:41:26Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > A foul-mouthed Canadian with amusing pronunciation of certain words makes [a pretty compelling case in this Youtube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtiTm2dKLgU&feature=youtu.be) for the failure being due to the over-tightening of tension rods, which really should not have been going on with traffic flowing underneath. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > [It is now confirmed](http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article206280134.html) that is what they were adjusting at the time. And, to his credit, AvE put that video out the following day. He had one the same day as well. All arm chair predictions with the help of some other internet people, but he knows what he’s talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/94 "2018-03-23T19:04:24Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > And, to his credit, AvE put that video out the following day. [This guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20849528&postcount=49) also made that suggestion the next day. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/95 "2018-03-23T19:25:50Z")
Excellent. I think they’re analysis is bang on. ---
**Author:** ![Scoobysnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Scoobysnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoobysnax)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/96 "2018-03-23T19:28:14Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > A foul-mouthed Canadian with amusing pronunciation of certain words makes [a pretty compelling case in this Youtube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtiTm2dKLgU&feature=youtu.be) for the failure being due to the over-tightening of tension rods, which really should not have been going on with traffic flowing underneath. I came on here to post those videos. AvE has the mouth of a sailor but he really knows his shit. He has access to the pre-construction plans (not as-builts) for the bridge in his second video on the collapse and it looks like they changed a few things for the worse. They really should have left at least one of the support vehicles in place until after the pre-tensioning was adjusted and the cables were installed. It is 20/20 hindsight, but not shutting the road while they changed the tensioning from center support to end support was a huge mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/97 "2018-03-23T20:33:33Z")
Watched the whole video. Very useful. But a side question–is it common for Canadians to pronounce gauge as “qwage?” ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/98 "2018-03-23T20:47:09Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Watched the whole video. Very useful. But a side question–is it common for Canadians to pronounce gauge as “qwage?” You mean you watched the whole _vijeo_. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/99 "2018-03-23T21:00:40Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > You mean you watched the whole _vijeo_. Yeah, I noticed that, too, but forgot the exact weird pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618/100 "2018-03-23T21:23:18Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Watched the whole video. Very useful. But a side question–is it common for Canadians to pronounce gauge as “qwage?” Part of AvE’s schtick is to mispronounce certain words. And I say “schtick” in the most loving way as I am endlessly fascinated and simultaneously depressed (in that I am massively less capable than he is on nearly any subject) by his videos. The full lexicon is [here…](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-_b2m8brkZ3SftLiqO-O-noAJATZixfMfxmTT_kjoEw/edit#heading=h.izqidzf226mh) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-bridge-just-add-disaster/810618.md?page=6)