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The pedestrian bridge that collapsed at Florida International University's Miami-Dade campus today, killing several people, was funded with $11.4 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. The TIGER program has come under repeated fire for awarding money based on politics rather than merit.
"This project is an outstanding example of the ABC method," said Atorod Azizinamini, the center's director, in a press release on Saturday. "This bridge is the result of great support from our congressional delegation and the U.S. Department of Transportation," said FIU CFO Kenneth Jessell in the same press release. "FIU and our surrounding community will benefit from this project for generations to come."
In 2013, the FIU was awarded $11.4 million in TIGER money for its University City Prosperity Project, which included the pedestrian bridge. Some 52 projects were awarded $458 million in that round of TIGER grants—known as TIGER V—using methodology that was later criticized by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for violating DOT's own standards.
The bridge was supposed to last for more than 100 years and withstand a Category 5 hurricane. Instead it came crashing down on people occupied cars within days of its construction.
Celebrated leading visionary bridge engineer Atorod Azizinamini, whose ABC (Accelerated Bridge Construction) technology was used to build the bridge that collapsed yesterday on Florida International University’s campus, was named an Obama era Department of Transportation ‘Champion of Change’ in 2015.
The event in which Azizinamini was awarded ‘Champion of Change’ status was webcast live at whitehouse.gov/live, no longer online.
Much will be made in coming days that FIGG Bridge Group designed the bridge and that it was constructed by MCM Construction, in the aftermath of the bridge’s collapse.
originally posted by: hoss53
My god. How far will these dumb asses go to try and justify Trump.
Smell the roses people, he can not be justified.
originally posted by: schuyler
originally posted by: hoss53
My god. How far will these dumb asses go to try and justify Trump.
Smell the roses people, he can not be justified.
Your hate will assure his reelection. Congrats.
originally posted by: sine.nomine
I love all the people instantly resorting to mocking for putting any blame on Obama without addressing anything in the OP. As if we didn't have to listen to Obama blame Bush for more than half a decade.