The overturned crane oparated by New Enterprise Stone and Lime Co., Inc.
WINFIELD, PA — The state Department of Environmental Protection plans to evaluate the scene of an accident involving a construction crane and steel beam toppling onto Route 15 near County Line Road in Union Township on Tuesday night.
DEP Spokesman Neil Shader said this afternoon that fuel and hydraulic fluid spilled out during the incident between Shamokin Dam and Winfield at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. The contractor was working on a new bridge over Route 15, which is part of PennDOT's $700 million Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway project.
"DEP will be inspecting the cleanup to ensure that fuel and hydraulic fluid were removed, along with contaminated soils," Shader said,
Union Township Fire Company Chief Rick Wetzel said the mechanical liquids were running down the supporting walls underneath the overpass. Volunteers put booms, which are blanket-like physical barriers that slow the spread of oil and other liquids, to divert fuel from the drainage systems.
"We're thankful there were no injuries whatsoever, or worse," Wetzel said. "It's not every day you have a crane collapse on a construction site like this. It's kind of a unique situation."
Wetzel said two cranes were being used to move steel beams, and one toppled over onto the bridge. The steel beam went between other beams that were already on the road, and some other debris fell onto the road. The operator of the crane was aware enough to know what was happening as it happened, and he jumped out before it fell, Wetzel said.
2:05 p.m.
SUNBURY — The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Sunbury officials will meet Thursday to discuss traffic patterns for this weekend’s River Festival if Route 15 does not reopen in time, according to a PennDOT spokeswoman.
A construction crane at the Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation project collapsed across Route 15 Tuesday night, causing the road to close and traffic to be detoured around one of the Valley’s busiest highways.
PennDOT’s Kim Smith said Route 15 will be closed for the rest of today and PennDOT is working as fast as they can to reopen the road.
Sunbury set traffic lights at Front and Market streets and Front and Reagan streets to flashing yellow lights due to the extra traffic, Reis said.
Sunbury Mayor Kurt Karlovich said he is asking for residents to be patient while driving due to the influx of out-of-town traffic making its way through Sunbury.
The Sunbury River Festival is scheduled for Thursday through Saturday in downtown Sunbury.
One of the festival’s events, the cardboard regatta, has been canceled due to unsafe river levels due to excessive rain the Susquehanna Valley this week.
12:52 p.m.
SUNBURY — Sunbury traffic lights at Front and Market streets and Front and Reagan streets will be set to flashing yellow caution lights until further notice as the city deals with an influx of traffic due to the closure of Route 15 in Union Township.
A crane collapsed onto the highway Tuesday night, detouring traffic into Sunbury and other areas of the Valley.
Sunbury Councilman Chris Reis said residents looking to avoid excess traffic on Front and Market streets can use Second Street to access the Veterans Memorial Bridge and Shikellamy Avenue to access the Thomas Edison bridge on Route 147 to Northumberland.
10:46 a.m.
WINFIELD — PennDOT officials plan to investigate how a construction crane and a steel beam fell onto Route 15 near County Line Road in Union Township on Tuesday night. The accident between Shamokin Dam and Winfield has closed down the road for the next several days.
"The main focus right now is to safely recover the crane and get the road back open," PennDOT Spokesman David Thompson said this morning. "We don't know how it occurred at this time and we don't want to speculate. It's under investigation."
Thomson couldn't say for sure whether there was a fuel or oil leak at this time.
The incident occurred just before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday as crews from contractor New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co. Inc. worked on a new bridge crossing over Route 15, part of the $700 million Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway project. It will required "significant manpower" and additional cranes being mobilized in order to get the massive construction vehicle upright, Thompson said.
Thompson said it will be "a few days" to return the project to normal and regular updates will be provided as efforts continue.
The accident combined with the flooding on different roads of the Valley has left PennDOT "stretched pretty thin right now," Thompson said.
"This was a bit of a surprise," he said. "We're dealing with it the best we can right now."
Work around the bridge is suspended, but other work in different parts of the thruway project will continue. The contract for the bridge is set to be completed in 2019 with that part of the highway opening in 2022, he said.
"I don't think anybody knows how this will affect the completion of this contract, or whether it will have any impact on opening the northern section," Thompson said.
No one was injured, he noted.
A representative of New Enterprise was unable to be reached this morning.
DETOURS
Motorists in Union and Snyder Counties are advised Route 15 is closed in both directions between Route 304 in Winfield, Union County and Route 11 in Monroe Township, Snyder County due to the accident.
The following detours are in place.
Route 15 northbound traffic (south of Selinsgrove) should use Route 35 South, Route 104 North, and Route 45 East to Route 15.
Route 15 Northbound traffic (north of Selinsgrove) should use Route 61 South to Route 147 North to Route 11 North to Route 54 West to I-80 West to Route 15 North.
Route 15 southbound traffic (north of Winfield) should use Route 304 West to Route 204 South to Route 522 North, then go south on Market Street (Route 2017) to Route 35 North to go South to Route 11/15.
This weekend will have many visitors to the Valley for Little League and the Sunbury River Festival. Adjustments to the detour can be made if needed, Thompson said.
6:43 a.m.
A portion of Route 15 near County Line Road in Union Township will remain closed and could be closed for several days after a construction accident, according to a PennDOT spokesperson.
A construction crane and a steel beam fell onto Route 15 near County Line Road in Union Township just before 9:30 Tuesday night, shutting down the road, according to PennDOT.
“Personnel are currently assessing the situation and assessing the damage,“ PennDOT spokesperson Kim Smith said Wednesday morning.
“It is undetermined how long the road will remain closed at this time.”
Motorists are asked to find alternate routes, as Route 15 will be closed from the Route 11 interchange through Route 304, Smith said.
=======================================
Crawler overturn on bridge project
August 16, 2018
A crawler crane overturned on a road bridge project on US Highway 15 near Winfield - north of Harrisburg – Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, dropping a large beam into the road below – US Highway 15
No one was injured in the incident, in which the Manitowoc was apparently carrying out a tandem lift of a steel slider beam with another crawler crane when it went over sideways.
According to local police, the operator, who works for New Enterprise Stone and Lime Co., Inc. had his seat belt on at the time and was able to exit the cab without a mark. US 15 was closed while the lift took place, so there was no traffic below, although the falling beam narrowly missed a boom lift on the road below.
The road is expected to remain closed until the weekend. We will update this report if and when we learn more.
=================
New Enterprise Stone and Lime
As one of the largest and most reputable excavating & bridge contractors within the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and beyond, our New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., Inc. “Heavy Highway Construction Division” has the diversification and experience to tackle any project regardless of its size or difficulty. Our jobsites are always staffed with well-trained project managers, superintendents and craftspeople leading every step of the way. Our Heavy Highway Construction Division has the ability to complete major projects consisting of complete reconstruction of interstates, bridges, and highways, site reclamation and or development, as well as brand new highway & bridge construction. Just a few of our competencies include design and engineering, Mass Excavation, Fine Grading (Utilizing GPS & Laser Guided Systems), Pipe & Drainage Installation, Traffic Control, Structure Demo & Removal, Erosion Control and so much more. We have the ability to quickly and effectively mobilize manpower and equipment between our job sites at a short notice to successfully complete projects keeping them on track and on time for our customers.