The death of a welder who plunged more than 100 feet at the Springfield Interchange highway project has caused a shutdown of all operations until a review can be completed.
"All work on the Interchange has been shut down since Friday," said Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) engineer Larry Cloyed.
It is the third fatality for this project. The first worker died last year in a vehicle accident in Phase IV, and another worker fell to his death on the other side of I-95/I-395 on Thursday, May 23. There have also been several "near-miss" accidents, according to Cloyed.
"We'll be doing a thorough administrative review of each primary and subcontractor’s safety plans," he added.
A static review centers around the scaffolding and ladders used in the project, while a dynamic review is the actual construction equipment. These are all under the guidelines of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
While Cloyed said that the project could be back at full operation by the end of the week, it may be only phased in when the individual inspections are complete.
"We may be able to have these up in part or not full by the end of the week," Cloyed said.
According to Jeannette Coleman, public relations specialist for the Virginia Department of Labor, the matter is under investigation, and she could not comment.
"We are investigating. The investigation can last up to 180 days," Coleman said.
ACCORDING TO INFORMATION released by VDOT, on Wednesday, June 5, Caesar Rivera, a 24-year-old welder from North Carolina, was working on the bridge that carries traffic from I-495 south to I-95 south, when he stepped on a non-secured metal plate and fell from the platform. Although he had a safety harness on as required, it broke, and he fell to his death.
Interchange information specialist Steve Titunik followed the investigation.
"He was welding these aluminum pans. He was on the highest point, probably the 100-foot tower. The weight of his body falling may have snapped the safety line, or him swinging may have rubbed against metal and cut the line," Titunik said.
A dead stop from a man's body weight on the line puts strain on the nonflexible line.
"It's not like a bungee cord," Titunik said.
VDOT safety officer Mary Ellen Givens noted the danger involved.
"The work we do is more dangerous than firefighters and police. There are so many different factors," Givens said.
Complacency plays a big part out on the site, even though there are numerous safety inspectors. The routine of doing things over and over makes it easy to forget.
"They have what they call 'toolbox' meetings in the mornings. We try to [review the rules and] make sure they're conforming. We need to do a 'root cause' analysis," Givens said.
The Virginia State Police do the initial investigation with Virginia's Occupational and Safety Hazard team. VDOT does a follow-up investigation. VDOT regional safety engineer Billie Miller leads their efforts. She looks for compliance.
"It's our job to prepare investigation information for VDOT. I'll get with those folks [witnesses] once the state police and Virginia's Occupational and Safety Hazard is done, " Miller said.
Givens noted all steps are taken to make sure everyone knows the safety measures. A majority of the construction workers are Hispanic, so bilingual interpreters are sometimes necessary.
THERE ARE approximately 250 workers involved with the project, divided between Shirley Contracting, Lane Contracting and several subcontractors. Rivera worked for Crest Welding out of North Carolina, which was a subcontractor of Shirley.
Cloyed noted that along with a complete inspection of the safety plans and procedures, they will emphasize reinspecting on a regular basis.
"Follow-up frequent reviews will take place," he said.
Titunik stressed the emphasis that is put on safety. Besides the irreplaceable loss of life, there is a cost associated with accidents.
"They never expect any [accidents]. Safety is first on any civil engineering project. If you get a reputation of having bad safety, the insurance rates go crazy," he said.