California’s San Luis Obispo County has stopped work on a 45-mile-long pipeline and water-storage project after a third construction worker employed by Sacramento-based Teichert Construction died on a jobsite accident. The most recent fatality, near Pasa Robles, occurred on Aug. 20 when a vehicle backed up and struck Timothy Nelson, 29. Teichert is one of five prime contractors building segments of the pipeline for the county, which says the $176-million Nacimiento Pipeline is on budget and 85% complete. Last October, two Teichert employees at another Pasa Robles location drowned after being swept into a pipeline when a water line was
The number of construction workplace deaths and the industry’s fatality rate declined in 2008, but construction continues to have the most deaths among all industries, according to the U.S. Labor Dept.’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. BLS also confirms what many knew: 2008 had the most crane accidents in years. Slide Show The latest annual BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, released on Aug. 20, shows construction had 969 fatalities in 2008. It is the largest total among U.S. industries, but the number was down 20% from construction’s 2007 total. One possible factor contributing to the sharp 2008 downturn in fatalities
The number of construction workplace deaths and the industry's fatality rate declined in 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. But the construction sector continues to have the highest number of jobsite deaths among U.S. industries. The 2008 BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, released on Aug. 20, shows that construction had 969 fatalities in 2008, down 20% from the previous year's total. The 969 total is the largest among industries. Transportation and warehousing ranks second, with 762 deaths. The 2008 numbers are preliminary, and will be updated in April. One likely factor behind the steep decrease in construction deaths
Russian authorites are investigating the cause of an explosion at the nation’s largest hydroelectric plant, in southern Siberia. The explosion at a powerplant of the 6,400-MW Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric dam, which was undergoing repairs, killed at least 12 workers and left as many as 64 others missing after lower sections of the plant flooded. News reports initially suspected a transformer exploded during repairs. The 800-ft-high, 3,168-ft-long dam was opened in 1978 and supplies energy to the region’s large aluminum smelters. Photo: AP/Wideworld
A design flaw and inadequate concrete curing in a cantilevered segment of an elevated rail track being built in Delhi, India, caused the July 12 collapse that killed six people, according to a government report released on July 28. The rail agency Delhi Metro Rail Corp. (DMRC) may ban from further work the design-build contractor that holds several other contracts on the system. DMRC also is inspecting 87 piers previously constructed for the project. Photo: AP/Wideworld Report points to detailing flaws and concrete curing issues in girder collapse. A 4.2-meter-long cantilevered segment collapsed when crews with Gammon India, Mumbai, used
California Dept. of Water Resources investigators are trying to discover why a steel bulkhead failed on July 22 during routine hydraulic tests at Oroville Dam.
A twofold collapse failure on a construction site for an extension of the Delhi Metro has officials investigating and rail opponents incensed. An elevated section of track came crashing down on July 12, killing six workers and injuring 20. One day later, three cranes trying to remove the launching girder had a “mechanical failure,” says Delhi Metro spokesman Anuj Dayal. Slide Show Photo: AP/Wideworld Launching girder was placing a concrete segment when pier cap failed beneath it. Photo: AP/Wideworld The design-build contract on the 20-km new corridor being built from Delhi’s central core to the southeast is held by Gammon
Crane operator Joe Lowe and general laborer Jason Oglesbee saved a woman from drowning in the Des Moines River on June 30 after current pulled a boat over a low-head dam. A crew from Cramer & Associates Inc., Grimes, Iowa, constructing a steel-arch pedestrian bridge just upstream of the dam, leapt into action when rescuers could not reach Patricia Ralph-Neely, 67, who was trapped in the swirling boil for about 25 minutes. Her husband, Alan, 62, drowned. Photo: AP/Wideworld Laborer Jason Oglesbee is lowered via crane to the boil to save Patricia Ralph-Neely, who was in a boat as it
Officials are investigating the partial collapse of a seven-year-old precast office- tower parking deck in Atlanta that left a tangle of crushed cars in its wake but no reported injuries at ENR press time. The collapse occurred on Monday, June 29, at the Centergy office complex in midtown Atlanta. The center section of the eight-floor deck collapsed at the fourth level, pancaking the floors below it down to grade. More than 35 cars were crushed in the collapse. The cause of the collapse is unclear, and efforts to stabilize the structure are ongoing, say officials. The 460,000-sq-ft parking deck was
Chinese officials are investigating why a 13-story apartment building under construction in Shanghai toppled over suddenly, almost intact, killing one worker. The building was supported by piles that were suppose to be buried deeply but which were uprooted in the riverfront construction site accident. The building, one of 11 others at the Lotus Riverside complex, had 629 units. Photo: AP / Wideworld
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