HELP SOMEONE'S - - HAVE
SOMEONE'S HELP SAVE SOMEONE'S
LIFE.
WE'RE JOINED BY DR. MODESTO
MAIDIQUE, THE FORMER PRESIDENT
OF FIU AND ALSO HAPPEN TO BE AN
MIT TRAINED ENGINEER.
WE ARE SO GLAD TO HAVE YOU.
WHY DON'T YOU START WITH
GIVING US AN OVERALL IMPRESSION
IN THE DAYS THAT UNFOLDED SINCE
THE TRAGEDY AND WHETHER YOU
WOULD'VE ALLOWED TRAFFIC TO
FLOW UNDERNEATH THE BRIDGE AT
THIS STAGE IT WAS IN.
THIS WAS A SAD IT - - THE
SADDEST DAY IN THE - - IN THE
HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY.
I SPENT THE LAST COUPLE DAYS
GOING AROUND THE CAMPUS TALKING
TO STUDENTS AND WHAT THEY FEEL
IS SHOCK, SADNESS.
SURPRISE, SOME ARE STILL IN
DISBELIEF THAT THIS COULD'VE
HAPPENED.
SO I THINK IT IS THE WORST DAY.
IN OUR HISTORY.
MY MOTTO IS YOU MOVE FORWARD.
YOU - - NOT MOVE BACKWARD.
WE HAD A REPORT TODAY THAT
THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION ORDERED FIU AND
THE CONTRACTORS A NUMBER OF
YEARS AGO TO MAKE CHANGES TO
THE BRIDGE MAIN TOWER AND
POSSIBLY THIS CAUSE THE PROJECT
TO BE BEHIND SCHEDULE AND
OVERPRICED AND COST OVERRUN AND
MAYBE THIS WAS HURRIED.
I KNOW YOU RETIRED AS THE
PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY,
PROBABLY GLADLY SO RIGHT NOW.
YOU HAVE AN ENGINEERING
BACKGROUND, DO YOU THINK THEY
WERE IN A HURRY TO FINISH THE
PROJECT ?
I AM A DESIGNER.
I WILL GIVE YOU THE OPTIMAL
PERFECT PACK, ONE TIME I
DESIGNED THE PERFECT 10,000
VOLT HIGH-SPEED GENERATOR WHICH
ARE VERY INTERESTED IN, BUT THE
IDEA THAT THEN SOMEONE WOULD
SAY YOU KNOW YOU HAVE THE
OPTIMAL DESIGN IN THE WORLD AND
WE DON'T LIKE IT.
REDESIGN IT.
THAT IMMEDIATELY INTRODUCES
ANOTHER MINDSET AND
COMPLICATIONS.
BECAUSE YOU HAVE SPENT A LOT OF
TIME COMING UP WITH AN OPTIMAL
DESIGN NOW YOU HAVE TO COME UP
WITH A REDESIGN THAT YOU'RE NOT
AS MOTIVATED TO BECOME OPTIMAL
AND MAYBE IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR
IT TO BECOME OPTIMAL BECAUSE OF
RESTRAINTS.
I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE
PLACES WE HAVE TO LOOK AND WE
HAVE TO LOOK HARD DID THAT
REDESIGN CAUSE SOME CHANGES
THAT MIGHT BE IN PART
RESPONSIBLE ? I WILL TELL YOU
THIS AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE
FULLY BEFORE, WHEN IN
ENGINEERING SYSTEM FAILS, IT'S
HARDLY EVER FAILS FOR ONE
REASON.
IT FILLS FOR A COMBINATION OF
REASONS.
MAYBE I AM A HIGH - - I WILL
HYPOTHESIZE BUT SPECULATE NOW,
MAYBE THE DESIGN WASN'T RIGHT.
BUT HAD THE CEMENT BEATEN THE
RIGHT CEMENT, IT WOULD'VE
WORKED OR MAYBE HAD THE TRUST
BEEN RIGHT, TYPICALLY IT'S TWO
OR THREE THINGS.
I WOULD GUESS SOME OF YOU HAD
BEEN IN AIRPLANES THAT LOST AN
ENGINE, I HAVE BEEN FOUR TIMES.
YOU CAN STILL KEEP FLYING
BECAUSE THERE'S REDUNDANCY
WILTON.
I BELIEVE TWO THINGS, NUMBER
ONE, WHEN THIS IS FINALLY
EXPLAINED, THERE WILL BE A
MULTIPLE SERIES OF FACTORS
IMPACTING DIFFERENT
ORGANIZATIONS AT DIFFERENT
POINTS THAT WILL EXPLAIN WHAT
HAPPENED.
NUMBER TWO, AS MUCH AS I WOULD
LIKE TO GIVE YOU AN ANSWER
TODAY, IT WILL TAKE A WHILE.
YOU HAVE TO EXAMINE THE CEMENT
AND THE CABLES AND THE STEEL
BARS.
YOU HAVE TO EXAMINE THE LOAD ON
THE BRIDGE YOU HAVE JUST
EXAMINE THE RESTING POINTS AND
THE PILLAR.
IT WILL TAKE A WHILE.
IT TOOK YEARS TO DESIGN IT, IT
WILL TAKE A FEW WEEKS TO
DECIPHER IT.
THE INVESTIGATION IS GOING
ON RIGHT NOW. OVERSEEING
THAT.
I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT
REDUNDANCY AND ONE OF THE
THINGS THAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT
THE PROJECT AND WE KNOW ABOUT A
LOT OF LOADING PROJECTS ON THE
FIRST, THE UNIVERSITIES AND
COLLEGES THEMSELVES HAVE DIRECT
OVERSIGHT.
SO THE STATE AND THE THOUGHT -
- FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION IS NOT AS HANDS-
ON IN THIS PROJECT.
AS THEY MAY HAVE BEEN WITH
OTHER PUBLIC WORKS OR ROADWAY
OR BRIDGE, IS THAT A PROBLEM
RIGHT THERE?
HE HAD MORE OVERSIGHT.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S A
PROBLEM AT ALL.
THE MORE YOU GET THE STATE OUT
OF THE UNIVERSITY, THE BETTER
THE UNIVERSITY WILL FUNCTION.
I BASICALLY HAD EVERYONE IN
THAT DEPARTMENT AND I KNOW
THEM.
THESE ARE GOOD PEOPLE AND THEY
ARE AS GOOD OR BETTER THAN
ANYBODY IN TALLAHASSEE.
I DON'T THINK IF YOU'RE LOOKING
FOR AN ANSWER THERE THAT'S NOT
GOING TO BE AN ANSWER.
OUR BUILDING DEPARTMENT IS MORE
THAN CAPABLE OF - - TO GIVE YOU
A NUMBER, WE BUILT WELL OVER $1
BILLION WORTH OF BUILDING AND
OTHER PARTS IN DORMITORIES AT
FIU, WE HAVE NEVER HAD
SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
I WANT TO FIRST SAY
SOMEBODY MADE A DECISION TO
ALLOW THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC WHILE
YOU'RE SAYING IT COULD BE WEEKS
FOR THE INVESTIGATION AND
CONSTRUCTION, WE SHOULD KNOW
SOONER WHO MADE THE DECISION TO
ALLOW CARS TO PASS WHILE THIS
WORK IS BEING DONE.
THAT WAS ACTUALLY A
QUESTION.
IT'S A COMBINED DECISION,
THE UNIVERSITY CANNOT THE SIGN
THAT - - DECIDE THAT, IF IT'S
THE STATE HIGHWAY WITH THE
STATE IF IT'S LOCAL, IT'S WITH
THE PARTICULAR WHETHER IT'S
SWEETWATER OR DADE COUNTY.
IT'S A COMMON - - SOMEONE HAS
TO ASK AND SOMEONE HAS TO
ALLOW.
EVEN THEN YOU CANNOT SAY THAT -
-
AN ENORMOUS BLOW.
I'M TREMENDOUSLY SAD.
I HAVE A SON AND A DAUGHTER - -