Kokosing CEO admits demolition plan was flawed in deadly bridge collapse

Updated Feb 17, 2015
Beams rest atop an excavator following a pancake collapse of an overpass being prepared for demolition in Cincinnati. Credit: Liz Dufour/Cincinnati EnquirerBeams rest atop an excavator following a pancake collapse of an overpass being prepared for demolition in Cincinnati. Credit: Liz Dufour/Cincinnati Enquirer

The demolition plan for a bridge that crossed over Interstate 75 near Cincinnati was flawed and has been found to have contributed to the structure’s collapse which killed a worker last month.

According to a report from the Cincinnati Enquirer, Brian Burgett, CEO of Kokosing Construction, the firm contracted by the Ohio Department of Transportation to carry out the bridge’s demolition, said the independent engineering firm his company hired to evaluate the plans in wake of the collapse found several problems.

“There is no question in our mind there is a mistake that’s been made in the demo plan design,” Burgett told the Enquirer. “Our engineering firm has told us that it wouldn’t work the way it was.”

Burgett also apologized to the family of 35-year-old Brandon Carl, the worker killed in the collapse. In a statement, Burgett said, “I am very sorry, and all of us are deeply troubled by these findings.”

Carl’s family filed suit against the state of Ohio after Kokosing announced that changes had been made to the plans just hours before the collapse.

Burgett told the paper that the company is continuing to investigate the collapse and said that other factors may have played a role in the incident. However, in the meantime the company has made a major change to its demolition policy, instituting a check on its internal plans.

The company has asked engineering firm Janssen & Spaans to develop its own plan for each of Kokosing’s future demo projects. “Unless both designs agree, we won’t proceed with demos,” Burgett said. J&S will also review any amendments or changes made to approved plans.

You can read more about the collapse, including what some bridge experts have pointed out as an obvious flaw in the Kokosing plans, at the Enquirer.