GDOT keeping close eye on what caused deadly Florida bridge collapse

ATLANTA — The deadly bridge collapse in Florida has transportation officials in Georgia keeping a close watch on the investigation.

Crews in Florida built the collapsed bridge using what's called accelerated bridge construction. It’s a technique that’s been used to build several bridges here in Georgia, including the I-85 bridge after part of the interstate collapsed during a massive fire last year.

The Georgia Department of Transportation says all eyes are on Miami as investigators work to figure out the cause of Thursday’s pedestrian bridge collapse at Florida International University that killed at least six people.

“We are going to be watching this very closely to determine what went wrong,” spokeswoman Natalie Dale said. “We really have to take a step back and not jump to conclusions."

Crews installed the 950-ton span last Saturday using an accelerated bridge construction process, or ABC, a wide-ranging term.

“There are different ways to add ABC into a project to speed it up, to save taxpayer money, to save them the headache of yearslong detours,” Dale said. “It’s important that we don’t jump to conclusions, because that information is going to be key to preventing this from happening again.”

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The new State Route 299 bridge over I-24 in Dade County was the first full ABC project in Georgia.

To avoid major detours and massive traffic delays, contractors spent nine months building the bridge on the side of the highway, then shifted it into place in just one weekend.

“We’re not slapping up a bridge in two days. It takes time. It has proper inspections on the weekend that the bridge is put into place, we have 24-hour bridge inspectors onsite to make sure that everything is done properly,” Dale said.

After arson led to the I-85 bridge collapse last year, the ABC project included quick dry concrete and rare round-the-clock work to rebuild the bridge where it stood.

A new bridge in the works on Courtland Street between Gilmer and MLK downtown will include ABC components, such as installing new columns first, before removing and replacing the old decking.

Each Georgia ABC project is very different than the one in Florida, and Dale says it’s important to know that using an ABC process is not reason for concern.

“This is something that is successfully used worldwide in many different cases,” she said.

The Dade County bridge and the I-85 bridge are the only completed ABC projects in Georgia, but several others are in the works or planned. Here’s a list of locations of those projects.

Bridge replacement:
SR 211 / Beech Creek in Barrow County
Courtland Street

Bridge rehabilitation:
I-285 / Buford Highway in DeKalb County
I-285 / US 41 in Cobb County
SR 3 (Cobb Pkwy) / SR 280 in Cobb County
SR11 / Chattahoochee in Hall County
SR 11 / East Fork Little River in Hall County
I-75 / Bill Gardner Parkway in Henry County
SR 20 EB and WB / Etowah River in Bartow County
SR 303 / South Brunswick River in Glynn County

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