thursday doesnt look that bad - FryingPanTower.Com

Ol'Salt Joined: Mar 03, 2006 Posts: 565

Is the Oak Island 'bridge to no where' open, yet? If not, when ... Shocked

Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 8:53 am Post subject:

No it's not open yet. Last I heard was it was to hot to finish the concrete. I think they have pushed the date out to October. I think that means next spring. It will cut 20 min off my drive so I will be happy to see it open.
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Ol'Salt Joined: Mar 03, 2006 Posts: 565

Sounds like another NCDOT 'never-ending project' ... Shocked

Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 5:35 pm Post subject:

It is been to hot to fart lately.
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Ol'Salt Joined: Dec 21, 2008 Posts: 269

i used to do concrete work so yes it has been to hot for them to pour a bridge. they can only pump in so much water into the concrete before they have to reject the mix. with the standards the government has for strength of the concrete especially for bridges you better be greatfull that they are not pouring it now.
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 7:22 pm Post subject:

We are pouring, but at night, with ice and in smaller amounts.

Ol'Salt Joined: Dec 19, 2007 Posts: 112

Should have known how concrete behaves when its hot outside before telling people when the Bridge will be finished.
I am sure its not the first hot weather season or first concrete bridge.

Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 8:05 pm Post subject:

The concrete is not the holdup. When the man got killed put everything behind. The whole job was shut down for a while. Later is better than never! Safety is job #1 for the workers and the public.

Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 8:15 pm Post subject:

what man was killed
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 9:11 pm Post subject:

Back on Dec. 3, 2008 when the pre-cast beams were being placed one was hit and it fell on a worker and killed him.

Related Links:

DOT to review report, determine when bridge work can resume
New Oak Island bridge probe should move quickly
Independent investigators to probe fatal beam collapse
Did girder buckle before it fell? See for yourself on video
Oak Island bridge work shut down until at least Monday
Full investigation into collapse could take months
Star-News photographer witnesses collapse
Worker, residents give accounts of accident
Details about the companies involved in the project
Project had been ahead of schedule, under budget
Second Oak Island bridge delayed again
New Oak Island bridge projected to open in September
Collapsed Oak Island bridge project superintendent sues contractors
Survivor of Oak Island bridge collapse sues DOT
Work moving along on new Oak Island bridge
More Information:
Get complete coverage of the Oak Island bridge girder collapse here:
Key Documents:
Background on bridge construction (PDF - 655kb)
More Photos:
Oak Island Bridge Collapse
Jose Montalvo, of Sumter, S.C., who was on the girder and was buried by it when it fell about 40 feet, died at the scene. He had worked for Lee Construction Co. of the Carolinas, the company building the new span, for seven years, said Jerry Lawrence, a risk manager for the company. Montalvo was married with three children.

Ricky Bryant, of Supply, was airlifted to New Hanover Regional Medical Center where he was in surgery late Wednesday, according to Lawrence.

A third worker, Roberto Hernandez, of Sumter, S.C., was taken to Dosher Memorial Hospital in Southport with minor injuries.

“We need to pray for these families,” Oak Island Mayor Johnie Vereen said after arriving at the accident scene.

What happened

An official investigation of the collapse is under way but exactly how it happened was not clear even to one worker who was there when the girder fell.

Jose Luis Garcia was working on the bridge when the girder came crashing down.

“We hear a noise,” he said. After that he saw three of his friends fall.

He said one of his friends was injured and he was not allowed to see the other.

“I think he pass away, he’s dead,” he said.

By 1:30 p.m., the Oak Island Police Department had cleared the scene, and the N.C. Department of Transportation and Occupational Safety and Health Administration had taken over, investigating what caused the collapse.

Vereen said there would be three investigations into the accident – one by OSHA, one by Lee Construction and one by the DOT.

Lawrence said the girder that fell was put in place the previous day. The workers were placing the last girder Wednesday when the one next to it collapsed.

The girders are 165 feet long and weigh 121 tons, according to Oak Island Fire Chief John House.

Lawrence said the company is trying to determine the safest way to secure the last girder, which is still connected to the crane that lifted it into place. Vereen said a private security crew would monitor the site overnight.

Lawrence said he was unsure how long the accident would halt construction.

He added Lee Construction has a good safety record.

“Unfortunately these things, I guess, sometimes happen.”

“Lee is very sorry that this occurred," Lawrence said, "and we send our condolences to the family.”

The survivors

Bryant, 49, has been with Lee Construction for 10 years, and he’s married with two children, Lawrence said.

His son, Jordan Bryant, 18, was in class at West Brunswick High School when he received a note telling him to go straight home after school.

“I knew something had happened,” he said.

His family, including his mom and his 26-year-old brother, were already at the hospital.

Jordan Bryant said his father had surgery to repair a broken ankle and broken leg but was expected to fully recover.

Hernandez, who was treated at Dosher Hospital, is married and has three children, Lawrence said.

Witness accounts

Ron Weiss was walking his dog and saw the girder collapse. He said one construction worker was hanging by a safety rope, but they were able to get him down.

Weiss said he heard another man screaming.

“I hope to God he’s OK,” Weiss said, adding that when the girder fell it shook the ground.

Janet Councilman was watching the construction when the girder dropped. “All of a sudden it just collapsed,” she said. “Dust everywhere.”

As word of the incident spread through town, residents started showing up at the construction site, which many already visit regularly to check progress on the long-awaited bridge.

Cars pulled up throughout the afternoon.

Oak Island resident Kathy Glover heard about the collapse when she was at the Oak Island Recreation Center.

Glover said she comes out almost every day to watch the bridge construction.

She was shocked when she heard about the collapse.

“They were really so cautious,” she said.

Oak Island resident Josh Brewer, who lives near the bridge, said his entire house shook when the bridge collapsed.

“It felt like an earthquake it was so big,” he said.

Staff writer Shannan Bowen contributed to this report.

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