La Crosse Tribune
LA CROSSE, Wis. — A 19-year-old man working on the Inter-state 90 bridge construction project suffered life-threatening injuries Wednesday when he fell about 45 feet, authorities said.
Rescue crews used a boat, rescue basket and crane to reach the man who fell into the Pier 2 cofferdam, a temporary watertight enclosure that is pumped dry to expose the bottom of the river to allow for construction, town of Campbell Fire Chief Nate Melby said.
Another worker witnessed the fall about 9:05 a.m. and called 911.
The man fell while installing concrete forms and was wearing a harness when rescuers reached him, Campbell Police Chief Tim Kelemen said.
He was transferred from the boat to an ambulance and taken to Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center. The man’s father also worked at the job site.
The man underwent surgery and has been a full-time employee of Ames Construction for six months, said Roger McBride, vice president of safety, risk management and human resources.
Local authorities and Ames Construction safety crews worked for months to plan and prepare for emergencies, Melby said.
“The on-scene co-operation and planned response between emergency services and Ames Construction at the scene worked very well as a result of this planning,” he said.
Ames Construction’s safety team is on site and will work with project management to determine the cause of this “very unfortunate incident,” McBride said.
The Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration will investigate the incident, said Rhonda Burke, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Department of Labor.
It has up to six months to complete the investigation and determine whether any safety violations contributed to the incident.
“Work on Pier 2 has temporarily stopped while the incident is being investigated, but work on the rest of the project is continuing. There is no impact to traffic on the construction site,” said Mark Anderson, project manager for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. “This was the first lost-time incident on the project.”
The last major bridge project in the immediate La Crosse area also was marred by an accident.
Tony Poterala, an ironworker, fell to his death in October 2003 while working on the Mississippi River bridge leading into downtown La Crosse.
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