Possible Steel Failure Probed As Ohio Crane Investigation Continues 3/22/2004
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating failed or fractured steel as a possible factor in the collapse of a 2-million-lb launching truss girder Feb. 16 that killed four workers and injured four at the site of the $220-million Maumee River Bridge project.
Pieces of fractured steel from the 40-ft-high, 315-ft-long truss crane are being examined at Lehigh Universitys Engineering Research Center for Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems. "Were looking at many thingswere taking samples of different parts of the truss and shipping them to Lehigh University for various kinds of testing to see if the steel was an issue," says Joe Rutherford, spokesman for the Ohio Dept. of Transportation.