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NTSB To Focus On Construction, Cracks In FIU Bridge Collapse

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Nine weeks after the main span of the FIU pedestrian bridge came crashing down, killing five motorists and a worker, the NTSB has released its preliminary report on the calamity, that reveals nothing that hasn't already been reported.

The report does, however, specifically talk about cracks discovered in concrete support beams days before the collapse. A crew was tensioning steel rods in the most heavily cracked beam when the crossover fell. The NTSB reports no bottom line to its investigation.

"This report really doesn't say all that much, so I really want to see what the end result is going to be," said Greg Batista an engineer with Batista and Associates in Davie.

The families of those killed want more information that Florida International University, the Florida Department of Transportation, and others have refused to release, citing the on-going investigation.

"Our clients very much want as much disclosure, as much information as they can obtain from all the parties as quickly as they can," said attorney Alan Goldfarb who is representing the family of Alexa Duran, an FIU student who was crushed to death.

"Our clients and the other families want the truth, they just want the truth," Goldfarb said.

The NTSB says its probe will examine every angle of the bridge failure, from design to construction to collapse. The victims say there is a lot to examine.

"I think there are many, many issues that occurred here from the beginning through to the end," Goldfarb said.

The NTSB has provided no timeline for the release of a final report and probable cause of the bridge tragedy.

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