14 workers hurt in bridge collapse
Spokane’s Graham Construction building I-84 span in Nampa, Idaho
A bridge collapse near Boise sent 14 employees from a Spokane construction company to the hospital Monday.
All but three had been released within five hours of the accident, which occurred about 2:15 p.m., said Doug Sherrow, president of Graham Group U.S., which owns Graham Construction and Management in Spokane. The three who remained hospitalized didn’t have life-threatening injuries.
“There’s certainly some broken bones … but fortunately there’s nobody really badly injured,” Sherrow said.
Concrete was being poured to form the deck of a bridge on Interstate 84 northwest of the former Robinson Road overpass when the new section collapsed and more than 20 workers fell about 30 feet, according to the Idaho Transportation Department.
Eight other workers were on the bridge when it collapsed but weren’t injured.
“A lot of folks were on that bridge and rode it down,” Nampa Deputy Fire Chief Doug Strosnider told the Idaho Statesman of Boise. “God was looking out for Nampa today, that’s for sure.”
Graham Construction has been working in Boise since September as part of an $8.5 million contract with the ITD to replace overpasses at Robinson and Black Cat roads.
Those efforts are part of a larger project to widen the freeway between Meridian and Nampa.
Sherrow called the accident “a rare occurrence for Graham.”
“We’re a large company, and our efforts toward safety are paramount,” he said. “I think it’s because of our adherence and concern for workers that it wasn’t worse than it was.”
Transportation officials stopped work on the bridges pending an investigation, which Sherrow said will begin today. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration will also investigate.
“The idea is to get the project up and running as soon as possible, but only after it’s right to do so,” said Sherrow, who traveled to Nampa from Seattle after the collapse. “We’ll do everything we can to care for those that were injured. I’m just sorry it happened.”
Traffic wasn’t affected by the collapse.
Graham Construction employs about 150 people in Spokane, general manager Larry Wiberg said. Its recent projects include construction of Spokane’s six new swimming pools.