General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: FIU Bridge - What's missing from this picture [View all]lapfog_1
(29,191 posts)The company I worked for back then did the post analysis engineering simulation of the "Sky Bridges" and found that, as built, they should have failed under their own weight.
Also, one of the people I worked with at that company died in the "accident" (along with his wife).
If they had been built "as designed" they would have held up even overloaded with people dancing on them.
This bridge in Florida just seemed to be wrong for a lot of reasons.
Concrete roof? Who even needs a roof for a pedestrian walkway over a busy 8 lane highway? Mesh steel span with some sort of glass or wooden floor and some sort of solid railings (to keep people from throwing stuff onto the cars passing underneath) should have been much cheaper and more sturdy. And if you needed a cover, canvas with "flaps" (so it doesn't turn into a big sail) that can be removed when a hurricane threatens would have been my choice. Or even a series of large umbrellas across the span with tables and seating - if they really wanted that - would have been preferable.
I simply did not get why they would put a concrete "sunshade" over the walkway. That alone had to weigh tons.