A company who touted the “structural monitoring” of the 950-ton pedestrian bridge that collapsed in Florida deleted their tweet praising “a job well done.”
#BREAKING: Multiple fatalities reported in @FIU pedestrian bridge collapse. @BDITest just deleted this tweet from 3 days ago in which they said they were “thrilled to have performed structural monitoring” on the project. pic.twitter.com/jQRBb7zdQa
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) March 15, 2018
BDI is a company based out of Louisville, Colorado that provides “structural testing services & equipment all over the world. We are responsive, knowledgeable, and cost effective.”
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On March 12 they tweeted a photo of the pedestrian bridge at Florida International University, and captioned it, “We are thrilled to have performed structural monitoring during a spectacular bridge move by [Barnhart Crane] at [Florida International University, Miami]. Congratulations to [Barnhart Crane] on a job well done, we always appreciate being part of the team!”
As noted by Floridian Billy Corben, BDI deleted that tweet shortly after news of the bridge collapse was reported.
According to their website, BDI “personnel have performed hundreds of testing and monitoring projects around the world. This experience is apparent in the efficient services we provide and the instrumentation that we have developed and use on our projects.”
“No matter how sophisticated, modern analytical techniques cannot replace field testing for understanding how a structure will respond under load,” the company adds.
The Barnhart company was founded in Memphis, Tennessee in 1969, and describes itself as “one of the largest Heavy Lift and Heavy Transport organization in the United States with more than 40 locations across the country and a nationwide reputation for solving problems.”
“Barnhart provides world-class service through a local presence. Operated crane rental, rigging services, outage planning, specialized solutions for component replacement, industrial storage and national project cargo logistics all combine to ensure Barnhart’s customers receive the lowest total project cost. Barnhart also boasts one of the largest engineering teams in the industry — including a full R&D department — driving innovation across all services,” the Barnhart website adds.
First-of-its-kind pedestrian bridge “swings” into place. “FIU is about building bridges and student safety. This project accomplishes our mission beautifully,” -President Mark B. Rosenberg. https://t.co/x8gPM9A4DG #worldsahead pic.twitter.com/mPEMeh2zmw
— FIU (@FIU) March 10, 2018
Prior to the fatal collapse, Florida International University tweeted that it was a “first-of-its-kind pedestrian bridge,” and added a comment from FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg.
“FIU is about building bridges and student safety. This project accomplishes our mission beautifully,” Rosenberg said.
