Dubai bridge collapse kills seven

[(Otto Mation)]

Span under construction comes tumbling down in the heart of Dubai  · The Australian content includes: an article.

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[The Great Hizzy!]

That's a shame.

[Guest danax]

This makes me wonder if these structures are being engineered properly and if the materials are of sufficient quality. I know that in Mexico, a lot of the construction is cheap and uninspected. My ex wife bought a 2 story house in Guadalajara that is concrete and is starting to "fall apart". She has recently learned that the concrete is unreinforced.

I know Dubai has a lot of "1st world" money but that doesn't necessarily mean that the construction is.

[Talbot]

Unfortunately at the pace they are constructing in Dubai, I seriously would not doubt if they bypass some safety factors to get structures up faster.

They build structures over there like America builds cookie cutter suburban homes.

[Ross]

I haven't been to Dubai, but hav espent a bunch of time in Doha, Qatar watching buildings under construction. In Doha, they use a bunch of steel in the concrete. Inch and a half and bigger in some cases. Teh concrete pours seem well planned and the concrete looks good when it's finished. Engineering is done by firms that seem to know what they are doing/ Biggest hit on the building process is that some contractors treat their employees as expendable, and lax safety habits seem rampant - like seeing guys on the tops of cranes without fall arrest gear. I imagine Dubai is similar.