DETROIT (WXYZ) — It was an unusual situation, but, thankfully, no one was hurt said Arthur Jemison, the City of Detroit's Chief of Services and Infrastructure, when talking about Wednesday's collapse of the Packard Plant bridge over East Grand Boulevard near Mount Elliott on the city's east side.
Jemison said members of his team were looking to talk to the last person assigned to inspect one of the city-owned buildings that was connected to the south half of the bridge.
We were told that inspector was off Thursday as city officials began trying to figure out what caused the bridge to collapse.
Jemison told 7 Action News that it's unclear if the inspection in August 2018 also included the bridge that records show was built in 1938.
Cleanup of concrete, bricks, steel and other debris continued Thursday.
Through his company, Arte Express, Peruvian businessman Fernando Palazuelo has invested millions in cleaning up to rehab the building on the north side of the road into office spaces.
The bridge connected the city-owned building on the south to Palazuelo's building on the north, and they each owned the half of the bridge that connected to their respective sides.
It's unclear if Palazuelo ever hired anyone to inspect the bridge or his company's side of it.
A representative for Arte Express directed 7 Action News to talk to their attorney. So far, that attorney has not responded to our request for information.
