The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday issued strongly worded recommendations that three national organizations develop “consistent and compatible” guidelines for temporary bracing of highway structures to prevent accidents like the May 2004 girder collapse at C-470 and Interstate 70 that killed a family of three from Evergreen.
In letters to the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, acting NTSB chairman Mark Rosenker said the three organizations should work together to strengthen regulations governing bridge bracing systems. The groups also should ensure that designs are reviewed by a registered professional engineer, he said.
In its report on the girder accident, the NTSB said a subcontractor’s bracing of a single bridge beam was shoddy and inadequate. The agency also blamed the Colorado Department of Transportation for lax oversight of the bridge project. CDOT has since bolstered bridge erection procedures.
