Worker recovering after bridge collapse in Conn.

June 16, 2010
One man was listed in critical condition after a bridge in Connecticut collapsed on June 15.

Moments after telling other workers to get off the 48-year-old span, Anthony Mariano, who was operating an excavator and using a pneumatic concrete breaker to break up concrete on the deck at the time of the accident, was the only worker to suffer an injury. Mariano fell 35 feet when a section broke away from the 586-ft-long structure. He was airlifted by Life Star helicopter to Yale-New Haven Hospital, but Connecticut DOT (ConnDOT) officials said he was conscious and talking at the scene.

One man was listed in critical condition after a bridge in Connecticut collapsed on June 15.

Moments after telling other workers to get off the 48-year-old span, Anthony Mariano, who was operating an excavator and using a pneumatic concrete breaker to break up concrete on the deck at the time of the accident, was the only worker to suffer an injury. Mariano fell 35 feet when a section broke away from the 586-ft-long structure. He was airlifted by Life Star helicopter to Yale-New Haven Hospital, but Connecticut DOT (ConnDOT) officials said he was conscious and talking at the scene.

OSHA officials and state police said the investigation into what caused the collapse could take weeks.

Crews were getting ready to demolish the existing Salem Bridge, which was last inspected by ConnDOT in 2008 and was marked in poor condition, after the new span was near completion.

Brunalli Construction was replacing the bridge at a cost of $23.5 million, but according to officials the firm has been cited for various safety issues over the last decade. Last year Brunalli paid out $181,000 to settle alleged safety violations when it was cited by OSHA for failing to protect workers from falls, drowning and other hazards while replacing a bridge over the Housatonic River in Falls Village, Conn. The contractor also has been hit with four other alleged safety incidents since 2000.

“I can tell you that we haven’t had any issues with Brunalli in the past, and they have always performed work to our satisfaction,” Kevin Nursick, spokesman for ConnDOT, told the

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