Joseph B. Fay Co. of West Deer, the contractor refurbishing the Liberty Bridge, has paid a federal fine for safety violations that led to September’s construction fire that closed the bridge for more than three weeks.
Christopher Robinson, director of the Pittsburgh office of the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration, said Thursday that Fay paid the $11,224 fine after a meeting with the agency. The fine was near the maximum of $12,471 but was lower because the fire was an accident and Fay has a good safety record.
The firm could have appealed the fine, which was issued for what the agency called a “serious” mistake of not properly protecting flammable material during a steel-cutting operation. As part of the $80 million project, an employee was cutting steel on the deck of the bridge Sept. 2 when hot slag fell onto a work platform below, igniting plastic ventilation pipe that was stored there.
The fire burned so hot that it buckled a 30-foot support chord in a key area. As a result of concern the structure could collapse, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation closed the bridge for 24 days for emergency repairs.
Meanwhile, Dan Cessna, PennDOT’s District 11 executive, said Thursday the agency has approved plans for the permanent repair of the bridge. The bridge will remain open for most of the repair process, but there could be a full Saturday closure of about 12 hours at the end of the work when weight is shifted to the new parts.
“It’s a combination of steel repair plates and steel angles,” Mr. Cessna said. “Once it’s completed, it will look like a normal steel truss.”
The permanent repair will involve the removal of some of the pieces installed during the emergency repair, as well as at least some of the damaged chord, and adding other support pieces. The parts have been ordered and should be available for work to be done in March, Mr. Cessna said.
“The goal is to have this completed before normal reconstruction resumes in April,” he said.
Fay is paying directly for the cost of the permanent repair. The estimated $500,000 cost of the emergency repair, which involved consultants from 16 different universities and companies across the country, will be deducted from Fay’s final payment as part of liquidated damages for the fire and bridge closure.
The company has challenged PennDOT’s additional assessment of $3,033,200 in liquidated damages for the time the bridge and a ramp to it were closed. Mr. Cessna said there has been no resolution yet.
The Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire also fined Fay $1,000 for failure to obtain a permit for conducting hot work such as cutting steel.
Ed Blazina: eblazina@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1470.
First Published: February 4, 2017, 5:25 a.m.
