KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSHB) — One person died and three others were injured Wednesday when a bridge that was under construction collapsed in Missouri.
An official said a member of the construction crew was pouring the bridge deck for the project when the collapse occurred.
The three people who survived were taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries after they “were able to extricate themselves” from the rubble, according to the Clay County Sheriff's Office.
There was no previous indication of structural issues with the 165-foot bridge prior to the collapse, according to an update from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday afternoon.
“The Clay County Highway Department states there were no safety concerns on the project prior to today,” the sheriff’s office said. “An engineering contractor was on scene today inspecting the bridge before the deck was poured.”
The bridge and roads leading to it were closed in 2016. Construction was expected to wrap up in early 2023.
Lehman Construction was hired to demolish the existing wood-and-metal pony truss bridge and build a modern steel-girder “superstructure slab bridge,” including adjustments to the approaching roadways and incidental work as required.
OSHA, which fined Lehman Construction for a “serious” violation of safe working conditions in 2019 on a different project, is sending compliance officers to investigate the bridge collapse.
This story was originally reported on kshb.com.
