Construction was expected to begin Monday on a pedestrian bridge near the campus of Florida International University, more than six years after the previous bridge collapsed while it was being built.
The 174-foot-long, 950-ton pedestrian bridge on Southwest 8th Street in southwest Miami-Dade collaped on March 15, 2018, killing six people.
The victims included five people who were sitting in the cars underneath the bridge while stopped at a traffic light: Alberto Arias, 53, Brandon Brownfield, 39, FIU student Alexa Duran, 18, Rolando Fraga, 60, and his partner Oswaldo Gonzalez, 57. Construction worker Navaro Brown, 37, was also killed in the collapse.
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The new bridge will span the same location, crossing Southwest 8th Street at Southwest 109th Avenue. The goal of the bridge is to help make it safer for students and staff to cross from FIU’s main campus to residential towers and student housing located across Southwest 8th Street.
Construction is expected to last for about two years. A memorial plaque honoring the victims of the bridge collapse will be placed on the new bridge when it is constructed.
As a result of the construction, roads will be closed near Southwest 109th Avenue and Southwest 8th Street during peak hours from 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. on Sunday to Thursday.
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On Friday and Saturday, there will be closures from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
