The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • A1

FOUNDED 1886 VOLUME 149, No. 75 FACEBOOK.COM/THECHARLOTTEOBSERVER TWITTER.COM/THEOBSERVER READ BY 1 IN PRINT AND ONLINE FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018 $1.50 CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.COM Business 6A Classified 7B CLT 11A Comics 10B Editorial 17A Horoscope 10B Lottery 2A Obituaries 15A Sports 1B CUSTOMER SERVICE To subscribe or report delivery issues, 800-532-5350 or charlotteobserver.com/customer-service SPORTS Do-everything Pinson a key to Tar title hopes 1B CLT Charlotte eateries might be familiar to visiting NCAA Tournament fans 11A Mostly sunny See 2A Visit the new www.randymarionchevrolet.net King of Price Starting At does not include tax, tag, title, dealer administration fee, or Envirogaurd. See dealer for complete pricing details. LOCAL LYNX EXTENSION OPENS TODAY The 9.3-mile Blue Line extension to UNC Charlotte doubles the total length of light-rail system. 3A LOCAL EVIL EYE GLOVES Knitter is circulating plans for gloves that show elected officials are being watched and held accountable in wake of Florida shooting.

4A CLT A PLEASURE Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander takes over the role of Lara Croft and makes a fun ride. 13A The Lynx Blue Line Extension opens to passengers at 10 a.m. Friday, the culmination of a decade of planning and con- struction. But the Charlotte Area Transit System finished. CATS chief executive John Lewis wants to build three new transit lines at once: to the airport, to Matthews and to Lake Norman.

He has said that would cost between $5 billion and $7 bil- lion. A The line from uptown to Matthews has been called the Silver Line and would run along Independence Boulevard and Monroe Road. A The line from uptown to the airport would most likely run along Wilkinson Boulevard. It would be an extension of the Silver Line, but CATS know how they would connect and how the airport line would pass through uptown. Options include running on the street or passing through uptown with a tunnel.

A consultant, WSP, is study- ing how the train should pass through uptown. A There is also the Red Line train to Lake Norman. The origi- nal plan was to use Norfolk freight tracks, but the railroad has so far refused. WSP is studying alternative routes from uptown to Moores- ville. Some north Mecklenburg mayors, including John Anarella, have said they want the train on the freight tracks as planned or they want it at all.

At request, the Metropolitan Transit Commis- sion is scheduled to vote March 28 on whether to direct CATS to end the Red Line study. A And finally, there is the streetcar, a city-funded project that CATS manages. Its cost part of the estimated $5 billion to $7 billion price tag Lewis has cited. In the past year, CATS has been mum on how it might pay for the expansion, which has been called Big will be time to have a very vibrant conversation (after the Lynx extension said CATS chief executive John Le- wis. want to build all three lines at one time.

It will take some unique Charlotte has often looked to Denver as a model for transit, and that city also embarked on an ambitious plan to build sev- eral rail lines simultaneously. Denver is building three transit CATS wants more rail lines, but who will pay for them? BY STEVE HARRISON SEE RAIL, 3A MIAMI A pedestrian bridge under construction collapsed Thurs- day, just days after crews had dropped a 950-ton span in place in a project intended to give Florida International University students a safe route across the busy roadway. The massive span in a sud- den, catastrophic and yet-to-be- determined failure crashed down across eight lanes of heav- ily traveled Tamiami Trail, flattening eight cars. The death toll remained uncertain as res- cue crews continued to work into the night to reach vehicles but late Thursday Miami-Dade fire chief Dave Downey con- firmed at least four people had been killed, including a student from FIU, police sources said. Nine people had been pulled from the rubble by evening and rushed to Kendall Regional Medical trauma unit, including two who required immediate surgery.

The others sustained injuries ranging from scrapes and bruises to broken bones, which were not consid- ered life threatening. On cam- pus, some families waited for word on missing loved ones. Even before the dust from the disaster settled, motorists scrambled out of their cars to help. At least one woman, Katri- na Collazo, escaped from her half-crushed car, pulled out unscathed by rescuers. Pedestrian bridge collapse in Miami kills at least 4 people ROBERTO KOLTUN Emergency personnel respond to a collapsed pedestrian bridge at Florida International University on Thursday in the Miami area.

The pedestrian bridge was under construction and due to be completed until 2019. BY ANDRES VIGLUCCI, MONIQUE O. MADAN AND DANIEL CHANG Miami Herald SEE BRIDGE, 2A pedestrian bridge collapse brought back painful memories for H.A. Wheeler, former president of what is now Charlotte Motor Speedway. On May 20, 2000, shortly after Dale Earnhardt Jr.

won All-Star Race at the speedway, word arrived that the pedestrian bridge at turn 4 had collapsed. my God, we killed 50 Wheeler remem- bered thinking. knew anyone under the bridge, they were dead. Fortunately, no one was under the Wheeler recalled seeing people with broken legs and arms more than 100 were hurt and being to learn no one died. I also understood the people who were hurt would suffer for a long time, and that was not It was horrible It was later found that high levels of calcium chloride in grout had eaten away at the steel cables that strengthened the concrete beams.

JOE MARUSAK Bridge collapse revives memories of at Charlotte speedway.