The
Colorado Department of Transportation released new requirements for erecting
steel and concrete girders Aug. 9 in response to the collapse of a girder in
May that killed a family of three.
The
proposals provide for more inspections and planning.
Contractors
must now provide complete details of plans to erect girders, and a
state-licensed engineer must approve the plan, The Associated Press reported. The contractor’s engineer would inspect and approve each stage of
installation before vehicles or pedestrians could pass on or below it, and
would approve any changes. Proposed changes also would have to be submitted to
the highway department.
At
least two weeks before a girder is installed, the contactor’s engineer, an
erection subcontractor and a CDOT project engineer must meet to discuss work
plans and safety requirements.
“The
measures we’re taking will provide additional levels of control from both a
quality and safety standpoint,” CDOT Executive Director Tom Norton said in a statement.
On
May 15, William Post, his wife, Anita, and their 2-year-old daughter, all of
Evergreen, CO, were traveling under a bridge when a 40-ton girder dropped onto
their vehicle. The girder was part of a project to expand a bridge over
Interstate 70 near Golden, CO.
A
second girder that experts said would have helped brace the one that sagged was
never installed because of delays that left workers no time to install it
before I-70 was scheduled to reopen. Weather also delayed work on the girders.
