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FDOT: Engineer reported cracks in FIU pedestrian bridge 2 days before collapse

MIAMI — The Florida Department of Transportation said Friday evening that an engineer left a voicemail two days before a catastrophic bridge failure to say some cracking had been found at one of the concrete spans.

But the agency said the voicemail left on a landline wasn't heard by an FDOT employee until Friday, because the employee was out of the office on an assignment.

In a transcript of the voicemail released Friday night, Denney Pate with FIGG Bridge Group said the cracking would need repairs, "but from a safety perspective we don't see that there's any issue there so we're not concerned about it from that perspective.

The pedestrian bridge at Florida International University collapsed Thursday, killing at least six people. Authorities are slowly removing the debris, looking for more victims.

Read the transcription of the voice mail below or click here to listen to it:

"Hey Tom, this is Denney Pate with FIGG bridge engineers. Calling to, uh, share with you some information about the FIU pedestrian bridge and some cracking that’s been observed on the north end of the span, the pylon end of that span we moved this weekend. Um, so, uh, we’ve taken a look at it and, uh, obviously some repairs or whatever will have to be done but from a safety perspective we don’t see that there’s any issue there so we’re not concerned about it from that perspective although obviously the cracking is not good and something’s going to have to be, ya know, done to repair that. At any rate, I wanted to chat with you about that because I suspect at some point that’s gonna get to your desk. So, uh, at any rate, call me back when you can. Thank you. Bye."

Listen to the voice mail below:

Statement from FDOT:

"According to standard procedures, FDOT issued a permit at the request of FIU’s design build team to close SW 8th Street during the installation of the FIU pedestrian bridge on Saturday, March 10. While FDOT has issued, following a request from the FIU design build team, a blanket permit allowing for two-lane closures effective from January through April, at no time, from installation until the collapse of the bridge, did FDOT receive a request to close the entire road. The department was also not made aware by the FIU design build team of any scheduled 'stress testing' of the bridge following installation and has no knowledge or confirmation from FIU’s design build team of 'stress testing' occurring since installation. Per standard safety procedure, FDOT would issue a permit for partial or full road closure if deemed necessary and requested by the FIU design build team or FIU contracted construction inspector for structural testing."

Statement from FIGG Bridge Engineers, Inc.:

"FIGG Bridge Engineers, Inc., continues to work diligently with the construction team to help determine the cause of the collapse of the pedestrian bridge that was under construction at Florida International University. We are heartbroken by the loss of life and injuries, and are carefully examining the steps that our team has taken in the interest of our overarching concern for public safety. The evaluation was based on the best available information at that time and indicated that there were no safety issues. We will pursue answers to find out what factors led to this tragic situation, but it is important that the agencies responsible for investigating this devastating situation are given the appropriate time in order to accurately identify what factors led to the accident during construction. We are committed to working with all appropriate authorities throughout this process."