OSHA recently amended (.pdf file) its steel erection standard to include a reference to the Federal Highway Administration’s requirements for highway bridge construction.
In a press release, OSHA said the technical amendment to the standard is intended to prevent incidents such as the 2004 deaths of three people whose sport utility vehicle was crushed by a 100-foot-long, 40-ton steel bridge girder that fell from an overpass under construction in Golden, CO.
FHWA regulations generally require a registered engineer to prepare plans for temporary braces or supports used to stabilize such structures during highway construction, but the company erecting the bridge failed to do so, according to a report (.pdf file) from the National Transportation Safety Board.
