UNIVERSITY PARK, Fla. – Five years ago, Wednesday, a pedestrian bridge that was under construction collapsed after a section splintered just outside Florida International University’s main campus in Miami-Dade.
The bridge crossed over Southwest Eighth Street, which remained open during the construction, and aimed to connect the southern area of the city of Sweetwater with University Park.
“All they had to do was stop traffic and this would not have ever happened,” Orlando Duran, a grieving father, said.
There were six dead: Duran’s daughter, Alexa Duran, 18, an FIU student; Navaro Brown, 37, a Structural Technologies VSL worker; Brandon Brownfield, 39, a Maxim Crane Works technician; Alberto Arias, 53, and Oswaldo Gonzalez, 57, the co-owners of Classic Design Party Rental; and Rolando Fraga, 60, a systems technician at ITG Communications.
Duran’s parents Gina and Orlando Duran visited a Bronze sculpture of their daughter that is on display in her memory at the FIU campus.
“Every year that we can we will come over here and remember her and the other victims of the tragedy,” Orlando Duran said.
“We miss her so much,” Gina Duran said.
An investigation by The National Transportation Safety Board identified there were signs of trouble before the tragedy that were not addressed.
Last year, the university announced plans to build a $15.5 million bridge over Eighth Street at Southwest 109 Avenue estimating that construction will begin in 2024 and be completed in 2026. The bidding starts in April.
FIU President Ken Jessell said Eighth Street will be closed for some periods during the construction of the new bridge.
“Currently the schedule is to close the road around 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day,” Jessell said.
Watch the 4 p.m. report