Firms behind construction of collapsed Miami bridge have history of safety complaints

[groundloop]

Source: CBS News

A special construction method was used on the pedestrian bridge that collapsed in Florida on Thursday, killing several people. The method is known as "accelerated bridge construction," and it's meant to minimize traffic disruption and maximize safety.

<snip>

Munilla Construction Management (MCM) -- a federal military contractor for the U.S. Army and Navy -- partnered with the FIGG Bridge Group to complete the bridge. FIGG has contracts with the Kennedy Space Center and NASA.

<snip>

But just 10 days ago, the company was sued in South Florida by a TSA employee who was hurt at the Fort Lauderdale airport. The employee's lawyer alleges that a makeshift bridge MCM built for workers to use while the company does construction at the airport broke under his weight.

As for FIGG, a 90-ton portion of a bridge the company was assembling in Virginia in June 2012 fell apart while under construction. The Virginian Pilot reports four workers were hurt and that state regulators fined FIGG $28,000 for safety violations saying it was "pure luck no one was killed."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fiu-bridge-collapse-florida-international-university-deaths-miami/

---

And yet repubs want to reduce the 'burden' of safety regulations and to allow industries to 'self regulate'.

[elleng]

1. contracts with the Kennedy Space Center and NASA.

[burrowowl]

2. Scary!

[appalachiablue]

3. Unsafe, shoddy construction on the cheap meaning injury & death. Appalling.

Last edited Fri Mar 16, 2018, 12:59 AM - Edit history (4)

Cases like this and others involving US infrastructure and transportation summon earlier disasters such as the General Slocum ship tragedy of June 15, 1904 in New York Harbor that that killed over 1,000 passengers at the height of the Gilded Age/Robber Baron Era of laissez faire capitalism.

The General Slocum leisure cruise tragedy was the largest disaster & loss of lives in New York until Sept. 11, 2001.

"Spectacle of Horror, the Burning of the General Slocum," Smithsonian Magazine, 2012.
Rotten life preservers & fire hoses, inadequate inspection of safety equipment, panicked crew lacking fire drill training.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-spectacle-of-horror-the-burning-of-the-general-slocum-104712974/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS_General_Slocum

Documentary: The General Slocum Ship Disaster, 1904 in NY Harbor, with *Interviews of Survivors. June 13, 2017.

[Control-Z]

4. How many regulations were skipped over

in the past year of construction, or no longer even required?

[iluvtennis]

6. Why was MCM given new contracts when they had prior suits and fines for safety violations...

...and Trump wants less protections - yeah, right.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. Trump regime want to cut back regulation to benefit the 1% and 0.01%. . . . . nt