1982 — April 15, Construction failure, Indiana hwy. ramp workers, East Chicago, IL– 13

—  13  Carper and Feld. Construction Failure. 1997, p. 9.

—  13  US GAO. Transportation: Further Examination of the East Chicago, Indiana… 1982.

 

Narrative Information

 

Carper and Feld: “East Chicago, Indiana Highway Ramp Accident, April, 1982. Thirteen construction workers were killed and 17 injured when the falsework collapsed during construction.”  (Carper and Feld.  Construction Failure. 1997, p. 9.)

 

US GAO:  “In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the adequacy of the Federal Government’s investigation of the collapse of a highway ramp under construction in East Chicago, Indiana, to determine whether the investigation is employing all available resources. The project is 90-percent funded by the Department of Transportation. On April 15, 1982, three sections of the ramp collapsed, killing 13 workers and injuring 17 others.” (Highlights)

 

“The Collapse and Its Aftermath

 

“On April 15, 1982, at about 10:40 a.m., three sections totaling over 400 feet of a Riley Road-Cline Avenue interchange ramp collapsed during construction, killing 13 workers and injuring 17 others. The planned ramp is located just west of the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal in East Chicago, Indiana, and is designed to take Riley Road steel mill and other traffic to what will be the Cline Avenue expressway. The ramp is part of a $261-million project of elevated highway and bridges that will eventually extend Cline Avenue (Indiana Highway 912) northwest through East Chicago, and almost to the Illinois State line.

 

“Based on discussions with various Federal and State officials and on news accounts, nearly 90 percent of the concrete for the deck of one section of the uncompleted ramp had been poured or placed using two crane-hoisted buckets. This section, which was about 65 feet high, collapsed first. Before it collapsed, however, most of the workers had gone to part of an adjacent section, which flipped over and came down with the first section. Somewhat later the rest of the second section collapsed. A few workers were able to get to the deck of a third section, which was by then a free-standing island 60 feet in the air, without a means of escape. This section fell about 5-10 minutes later as rescue workers looked on, unable to help the trapped workers. A Chicago Tribune graphic depiction of the collapse his on the following page [Appendix I, omitted here.].

 

“In terms of the type of construction, the ramp that collapsed was a cast-in-place, post-tensioned concrete bridge. In this type of construction, the bridge or ramp is made largely from concrete placed into forms on a system of permanent supporting columns and temporary supports or falsework. The forms or frames shape the wet concrete until it “cures” and are removed later. The concrete is reinforced with steel bars throughout. In addition, steel cables (post-tensioning strands) placed inside conduits in the forms before the concrete is poured are tightened or tensioned after the concrete cures; providing the strength needed to maintain the continuity of the bridge. A critical factor in this type of construction is the temporary support or falsework that must bear the weight of the permanent structure until the concrete has cured and the steel cables are properly tensioned. Early speculation about the cause of the ramp collapse had mainly centered on problems with the falsework, which was providing support to the structure at the time of collapse. This type of construction has not been used much in Indiana but has been used often in California and is considered a safe construction method by FHWA and Indiana highway officials.

 

“The State of Indiana is the owner of the Cline Avenue extension project, including the planned interchange with Riley Road. The Federal Highway Administration is providing 90 percent of the funds for the project under the Special Urban High Density Traffic Program. The program was established by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973 (Public Law 93-87) to construct in high traffic urban areas highways that are less than 10 miles in length and connect with the Interstate Highway System. (The program has since been repealed.) The State of Indiana is providing the remaining 10 percent of the project costs.

 

“….Construction began in April 1981 and is scheduled to be completed in September 1983. Work on the ramps was about 40 percent complete at the time of the collapse.

 

“Various Federal, State, local, and private groups are currently involved in investigating the Riley Road-Cline Avenue ramp collapse. Three Federal agencies are involved in the investigations. The National Bureau of Standards, with FHWA assistance, is conducting an investigation to determine the technical cause of the collapse. NBS is performing its technical investigation at the request of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which as explained below is acting on behalf of the State of Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA asked NBS to investigate because the NBS Center for Building ‘Technology had previously conducted similar construction accident investigations for OSHA, and OSHA officials were pleased with the quality of those investigations. The officials further believed that NBS has the expertise and laboratory capability to successfully investigate the ramp collapse. The ramp was being constructed as part of a Federal-aid highway project, but FHWA decided not to conduct its own investigation because the NBS investigation had already begun. NBS is to summarize its conclusions by September 16, 1982, and issue a final report by September 30, 1982….”  (pp. 1, 3.)

 

“The independent National Transportation Safety Board, which by law investigates aircraft, railroad, highway, and other traffic accidents, is not investigating the ramp collapse. Safety Board officials considered the accident outside their jurisdiction because it was not a traffic accident. The ramp was not complete and not open to traffic.” (p. 4.)

 

“In our opinion, the NBX investigation is an important phase, but it is only the first phase of a complete investigation. In the case of the Riley Road-Cline Avenue ramp, the system in place failed. It may have been a “one-in-a-million” occurrence or it may be a symptom of a broader problem. Those agencies — FHWA, Indiana Department of Highways, OSHA, and Indiana OSHA — with at least some responsibility for, interest in, and concern about the accident and project need to examine the system for weaknesses and reasonable actions that can be taken to prevent a recurrence. An examination to identify systemic weaknesses or contributing causes should not be viewed as an admission of guilt for the past accident but rather as an effort to improve for future projects.

 

“The team leader for the NBS investigation told us that examining systemic aspects of the ramp collapse is not a part of the NBS agreement with OSHA to determine the technical cause, and none of the other agencies are conducting such an examination. He said that systemic aspects are an important but often over-looked part of an accident investigation. He also said that these aspects should be examined with regard to the ramp collapse.” (p. 12) ….

 

“OSHA headquarters and regional officials told us that Indiana OSHA is responsible for carrying out the OSHA program in Indiana. OSHA headquarters officials told us that OSHA and those States with State plans are authorized to inspect aspects of construction projects such as the design of and the specifications for construction of the falsework for the ramp that collapsed; however, the 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act clearly envisions that such inspections be conducted on a spot-check basis with the employer responsible for compliance with the standards on a continuing basis. The officials said there are about 5 million workplaces and OSHA inspects about 2 percent of them.

 

“Indiana OSHA officials said that they have less than 100 inspectors responsible for inspecting the workplaces of about 93,000 employees to enforce safety standards. The agency randomly selects industrial construction sites using building permits. The Riley Road-Cline Avenue ramp project was not selected, and the site was not inspected before its collapse.

 

“The Director of Safety and Occupational Health for the AFL-CIO’s Building Trades Council told us that the 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act clearly makes employers responsible for worker safety. He said OSHA cannot have its personnel continuously at construction sites, but the act does give OSHA the authority to ensure that employers comply with its standards. He also said that each year an average of about 2,500 workers die from construction accidents, and it would be beneficial to have at least one of these accidents fully investigated, including the worker safety systems and procedures. The Safety and Occupational Health Director does not anticipate that changes will occur as a result of the ramp collapse unless a systemic review is also performed.” (p. 14) ….

 

“FHWA headquarters officials told us that FHWA is primarily concerned with the design of the ramp and the quality of the final product. They said that unless the investigations of the collapse show that there was a bridge design problem, they consider the cause of the ramp collapse to be a problem with the contractor, and the Indiana Department of Highways as the contract administrator is responsible for the project. The officials added that they would like to inspect construction projects more often but do not have enough personnel.

 

“FHWA’s policy directive on Federal-aid construction project inspections does not specifically address whether falsework plans are part of the plans and specifications that it is required to review. Although FHWA officials reviewed the original falsework plans, they said that they generally do not review them and did not review the revised falsework plans actually used in constructing the ramp. According to the Regional Director of Construction and Maintenance, the responsibility for falsework was between the State and the contractor, since the FHWA manual has no requirements on falsework. FHWA division officials also said that the State highway department as contract administrator, has total authority and responsibility to assure satisfactory work progress according to plans.

 

“Indiana Department of Highways officials and the contractor would not discuss their responsibilities with regard to falsework because of current and potential lawsuits over the collapse. However, State highway officials let us review their standard specifications manual. The manual states that falsework plans shall be furnished by the contractor bearing the seal of a registered professional engineer. The State engineer’s approval of the plans relates only to requirements for designed strength and detail, and he will assume no responsibility for the strength of the falsework when constructed and in place. The manual further states that approval will not relieve the contractor from responsibility for the adequacy or safety of falsework. Overall, the State’s specifications, like Federal highway requirements, are primarily concerned with the quality of the finished product, including workmanship and materials.” (p. 15)

 

“Matter for Congressional Consideration

 

“Matter: Congress should, in its current deliberations on the need to authorize an existing Federal agency to investigate structural failures, provide that such an agency have the specific responsibility for the total Federal investigative effort whenever a major accident occurs on Federal and federally assisted construction projects. This authority should provide for the agency to conduct independent investigations of both the technical causes and systemic aspects of accidents.

 

“Status: Closed – Not Implemented

 

“Comments: Congress is no longer considering the authorization of an existing Federal agency to investigate structural failures. Therefore, the recommendation that Congress also give such an agency the specific responsibility for the total investigative effort of failures on Federal and federally-assisted projects is no longer valid.

 

“Recommendations for Executive Action

 

“Recommendation: The Secretaries of Labor and Transportation should review appropriate Federal and State responsibilities, standards, requirements, control and monitoring procedures, and other appropriate systemic aspects of the Riley Road-Cline Avenue ramp’s construction. The objectives of this review should be to determine if improvements are needed for similar projects in Indiana and in other States. To have a more comprehensive review, the Secretaries should seek the cooperation of Indiana OSHA and the Indiana Department of Highways in examining systemic aspects of the ramp collapse.

 

Agency Affected: Department of Transportation

Status: Closed – Implemented

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

 

“Recommendation: The Secretaries of Labor and Transportation should review appropriate Federal and State responsibilities, standards, requirements, control and monitoring procedures, and other appropriate systemic aspects of the Riley Road-Cline Avenue ramp’s construction. The objectives of this review should be to determine if improvements are needed for similar projects in Indiana and in other States. To have a more comprehensive review, the Secretaries should seek the cooperation of Indiana OSHA and the Indiana Department of Highways in examining systemic aspects of the ramp collapse.

 

Agency Affected: Department of Labor

Status: Closed – Implemented

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.”  (Highlights)

 

(United States Government Accountability Office. Transportation: Further Examination of the East Chicago, Indiana, Highway Ramp Collapse Could Help Prevent Similar Accidents (CED-82-120). Washington: GAO 9-2-1982. Accessed at: http://gao.gov/assets/140/138719.pdf )

 

 

Sources

 

Carper, Kenneth L. and Jacob Feld. Construction Failure.  John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1997. Partially digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=-jnlb-oJxcEC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=true

 

United States Government Accountability Office. Transportation: Further Examination of the East Chicago, Indiana, Highway Ramp Collapse Could Help Prevent Similar Accidents (CED-82-120). Washington: GAO 9-2-1982. Accessed at: http://gao.gov/assets/140/138719.pdf