Bridge Construction Incident Under Investigation

Pulice Construction is conducting an investigation in coordination with the Arizona Department of Transportation on the cause of a construction incident that occurred this morning (Thurs., Aug. 9) in a construction zone along the Red Mountain Freeway (Loop 202), just east of Power Road in Mesa. No one was hurt in the incident. Traffic was not impacted because the incident took place in a construction zone. Nine of 11 girders in a 114 foot-long section of a future bridge fell from their pier caps at approximately 8:30 a.m. The girders had been placed atop the pier caps three weeks ago and were ready to be braced with concrete. Pulice Construction is the contractor for Loop 202 construction project between Power Road and University Drive. Parts of the girders fell into a nearby canal operated by the Central Arizona Project (CAP). The CAP, as well as OSHA, has been notified. Once complete, the structure will be redundant, meaning multiple girders will support it. Redundant bridges have been shown to be consistently stable, even if one or more girders are damaged. As they do with all ADOT projects, officials will conduct a rigorous inspection of the bridge before approving it. The incident will not affect the completion date of the final segment of the Loop 202, which is expected to open in late summer 2008.