The Daily Reporter – WI Construction News & Bids Wisconsin's Construction Authority
The Interstate 70 bridge in Rocheport, Mo., during floods in May of 2007. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited a Wisconsin construction company performing work on the bridge after a worker fell into the Missouri River last September. (AP Photo/Dan Gill)
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration gave two citations to Wisconsin-based Lunda Construction Company after a worker fell from a bridge in central Missouri in September of 2022.
OSHA fined Lunda for a total of $31,250 on March 8 for two “serious violations” involving fall protection, agency records showed. One violation is for the alleged failed personal fall prevention systems for falls more than 6 feet. Another violation is related to the employer investigating fall circumstances and its fall protection system after an incident has happened.
KOMU 8 first reported OSHA’s citations and the fall incident last September.
Inspectors found workers were exposed to fall hazards when erecting a bridge pier at River Mile 185 at the Interstate 70 Bridge in Rocheport, Mo., an OSHA report showed. The personal arrest system didn’t stop an employee from hitting a concrete bridge strut around 25 feet below and then falling into the river below, the report added. The incident happened on September 27, 2022.
In a second citation, the agency found the company didn’t allegedly reevaluate the written fall protection plan after the incident.
Each citation penalty is $15,625, which Lunda can dispute, the OSHA report showed. The case remains open and an abatement plan for each citation is due April 3.
