MAY 15, 2015
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)
North Carolina inspectors of the North Carolina Department
of Labor have determined design flaws on supporting girders led to the collapse
of a bridge under construction at Wake Technical Community College that killed
one worker and injured four others.
On the morning of November 13, 2014, workers with
Raleigh-based J.O. Concrete were pouring concrete on the 250-foot-long
pedestrian bridge, as part of a campus expansion project, when it suddenly gave
way, sending five men to the ground. First responders said the bridge, at its
highest point, was 40 feet tall.
One worker, Jose Luis Rosales-Nava, died and four others
were rushed to WakeMed. All five men were Mexican and in the U.S. on work
visas.
The following day, a second footbridge under construction collapsed, but no one was hurt during that incident.
According to documents released Friday, the investigation by the N.C. Department of Labor's Division of Occupational Safety and Health found the structures collapsed due to design flaws associated with several notches in the glulam girders, which were supporting the structures.
Glulam is a engineered wood product comprised of wood laminations that are bonded together with adhesives.
OSHA said it determined that Stewart Engineering Inc., the structural engineering firm hired to prepare shop drawings for the bridge, should have been aware of the flaws.
Yet, the Department of Labor said it could not recommend citations due to the lack of any applicable occupational safety and health standards or labor laws/administrative codes that address bridge design.
OSHA was also unable to establish that Stewart Engineering Inc. had any of its own employees exposed to any hazardous conditions associated with the design flaws and therefore could not issue citations under the NC General Duty Clause.
However, after OSHA established that the collapses were associated with engineering design flaws, it made a referral to the N.C. Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCBELS).
Officials said NCBELS has indicated that engineering issues associated with a collapse falls within its purview. The NCBELS is now investigating.
In a statement Friday, Stewart, Inc. said that it "cooperated fully with the OSHA investigation and is committed to continue in that regard with other investigations."
"Because of ongoing investigations, it is not appropriate for us to discuss this matter publicly at this time," the statement read in part. "We continue to assist and work earnestly with all the involved parties to move the process forward."
Following the accident, the ABC11 I-Team looked into Skanska, the construction company doing the work, and the sub-contractor that employed the victims.
Both the company in charge of the project and the sub-contractor responsible for the bridge had notably good safety records, according to records kept by OSHA.
The subcontractor, a company called Central Concrete, had been inspected four times in the past five years, but was never cited and never found to be in violation.
It's the same with the company in charge of the project, Skanska. They have had four visits from OSHA with no violations and no fines.
However according to the state Department of Labor, J.O. Concrete was cited for one serious violation in 2006 for not having personal protective equipment on the job.
The following day, a second footbridge under construction collapsed, but no one was hurt during that incident.
According to documents released Friday, the investigation by the N.C. Department of Labor's Division of Occupational Safety and Health found the structures collapsed due to design flaws associated with several notches in the glulam girders, which were supporting the structures.
Glulam is a engineered wood product comprised of wood laminations that are bonded together with adhesives.
OSHA said it determined that Stewart Engineering Inc., the structural engineering firm hired to prepare shop drawings for the bridge, should have been aware of the flaws.
Yet, the Department of Labor said it could not recommend citations due to the lack of any applicable occupational safety and health standards or labor laws/administrative codes that address bridge design.
OSHA was also unable to establish that Stewart Engineering Inc. had any of its own employees exposed to any hazardous conditions associated with the design flaws and therefore could not issue citations under the NC General Duty Clause.
However, after OSHA established that the collapses were associated with engineering design flaws, it made a referral to the N.C. Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCBELS).
Officials said NCBELS has indicated that engineering issues associated with a collapse falls within its purview. The NCBELS is now investigating.
In a statement Friday, Stewart, Inc. said that it "cooperated fully with the OSHA investigation and is committed to continue in that regard with other investigations."
"Because of ongoing investigations, it is not appropriate for us to discuss this matter publicly at this time," the statement read in part. "We continue to assist and work earnestly with all the involved parties to move the process forward."
Following the accident, the ABC11 I-Team looked into Skanska, the construction company doing the work, and the sub-contractor that employed the victims.
Both the company in charge of the project and the sub-contractor responsible for the bridge had notably good safety records, according to records kept by OSHA.
The subcontractor, a company called Central Concrete, had been inspected four times in the past five years, but was never cited and never found to be in violation.
It's the same with the company in charge of the project, Skanska. They have had four visits from OSHA with no violations and no fines.
However according to the state Department of Labor, J.O. Concrete was cited for one serious violation in 2006 for not having personal protective equipment on the job.
Stewart Engineering says in a statement it continues to
cooperate and isn't commenting while the investigation continues.