Bridges don't usually crumble into dust. So when a pedestrian walkway at Florida International University collapsed Thursday, killing six people and crushing eight cars, people were rightly horrified and confused. Workers had installed the bridge overnight only five days before the disaster. FIU even blasted out videos and news releases celebrating the project's completion — especially since a student had been killed while trying to cross busy SW Eighth Street in 2017.



Instead, a good idea has turned into a nightmare for the university and the families of six dead victims. Authorities are still sifting through the rubble to figure out what happened. They'll have to answer the following five questions before any investigation is finished:

1. Why were cars allowed to drive under the bridge while it was being stress-tested?



It's now clear that the pedestrian bridge at Florida International University collapsed and killed six people after engineers put it through some kind of "stress testing" earlier in the day. According to Sen. Marco Rubio, the bridge's internal support cables were being "tightened" just as the bridge crumbled onto traffic below, crushing eight cars under 950 tons of concrete and steel. But no one has yet explained why cars were allowed to drive freely under an incomplete bridge while workers were testing to see if it might fall apart. Now, some local officials are demanding answers. Miami-Dade County Commissioner Xavier Suarez, who has a background in civil engineering, said he was flabbergasted that SW Eighth Street was not shut down to traffic before or during any stress tests or cable adjustments on the unfinished project. "Never in my life have I heard of that," Suarez said. "That makes no sense. That makes no sense."

2. Was the bridge installed too quickly, and why were the temporary support beams removed?



FIU tweeted out video of the bridge "swinging" into place only five days ago — FIU press materials noted the construction method was designed to allow the structure to be assembled as quickly as possible. "This technique reduced potential risks to workers, commuters and pedestrians and prevented traffic tie-ups in the area," the university wrote. Just three days ago, a firm called BDI celebrated online that the company was "thrilled to have performed structural monitoring" on the project. After the collapse, BDI deleted its tweet.

3. Did political contributions help Munilla Construction Management get this job?



To Miami-Dade County insiders, it was no shock when Munilla Construction Management (MCM) beat out three other competitors to win a $14.2 million bid to build a high-tech pedestrian bridge at Florida International University. That's because Munilla is not only one of the biggest contractors in South Florida but also one of the most politically connected thanks to years of shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars to campaigns. Investigators are still sifting through the wreckage from yesterday's deadly bridge collapse that killed six, and there's no clear answer yet what went wrong. But questions are bound to be raised about Munilla's deep ties to local politicians, including U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez — especially because the firm has never been shy about turning its political generosity into favorable decision-making. Just take a look at the last election cycle, when Munilla executives and entities dropped an eye-opening $25,000 into local campaign coffers, according to a Miami Herald analysis at the time. In fact, the firm was the only company the Herald found that had given generously to all six county commissioners running for reelection. Not coincidentally, the county commission has steadfastly voted to back Munilla's ongoing legal protest that has held up an $800 million federal project to build a new I-395 bridge downtown. The Munilla firm is owned by a large family including Pedro, Jorge, Juan, Pedro Jr., Raul, Fernando, and others. And as their business grew, so did their reputation as rainmakers for local politicos.

4. Was the failure due to an engineering or construction error?



All 950 tons of the main span of the $14.2 million, 174-foot bridge crashed onto the road around 1:30 this afternoon. The structure, which spans all six lanes of SW Eighth Street at 109th Avenue in West Miami-Dade, had been installed only five days ago. Last Saturday, FIU, governmental officials, and construction firms blasted out celebratory images of the bridge being installed using a technique called "accelerated bridge construction," or "ABC," which is designed to build the structures as fast as possible. Instead, the FIU-Sweetwater UniversityCity Bridge, which was not scheduled to open to foot traffic until 2019, collapsed onto eight cars waiting at a red light. Earlier today, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez (who is in Hong Kong researching public transportation projects) said the bridge had undergone a "stress test" this morning just before the collapse. Some engineers have speculated the test might have triggered the disaster, but the accident's official cause has not yet been determined.



5. Did government officials properly vet these construction and engineering companies?

