DOT Inspector General Auditing Oversight of FIU Bridge Project
The FIU pedestrian bridge that collapsed March 15 was funded in part through DOT's Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) discretionary grant program, which awards grants to fund infrastructure improvement projects.
A March 22 memo signed by Calvin L. Scovel III, inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation, announced his office is conducting an audit of DOT's oversight of the project to construct the pedestrian bridge at Florida International University. That bridge collapsed March 15 onto a busy road below, killing six people.
The FIU pedestrian bridge was funded in part through DOT's Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) discretionary grant program, which awards grants to fund infrastructure improvement projects.
Elaine Chao, secretary of Transportation, asked Scovel's office to initiate an audit to evaluate whether the project complied with federal requirements and specifications, and the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., also asked the office to review the implementation and oversight roles of all parties on the project. Scovel's memo says, "Accordingly, the objective of our audit will be to assess whether the Florida International University pedestrian bridge met Federal and DOT requirements for the TIGER application, approval, and grant agreement processes. In addition to this audit, we will continue to identify and undertake future areas of work related to this matter as needed."