Bridge collapses beneath excavator, 2 workers, injuring one more on Pennsylvania repair project

Updated Dec 31, 2015

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Photo Credit: WJAC TVPhoto Credit: WJAC TV

Three workers caught in the epicenter of a bridge collapse in Pennsylvania all survived the ordeal.

According to a report from WJAC TV, crews have been at work repairing a bridge along Route 219 in Ridgway that was damaged in a flood last year. WTAJ TV reports the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s plan in the $2.2 million project was to replace the bridge’s superstructure while retaining its base. Crews had been making horizontal cuts to the bridge before it collapsed Thursday beneath the weight of an excavator.

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In the video below, you can see two workers walking alongside the machine when the section of bridge gives way. One other worker was beneath the bridge at the time of the collapse. All three walked away from the ordeal, with one worker having his hard hat to thank for his life, WTAJ reports.

“They were cutting across one abutment earlier this week and they almost finished or just finished cutting the other abutment,” Ridgway Borough Manager Kim Zimmerman told WTAJ.

“I’d say maybe 4 or 5 cuts that were made the both abutments had horizontal cuts in em and they were in the process of making the last vertical cut,” PennDOT assistant district executive Ben LaParne told WTAJ.

Once an investigation into the collapse has concluded, PennDOT plans to demolish the entire bridge, WTAJ reports.