A damaged crane will be taken apart and inspected, as well as all other cranes in HRM, after a dangerous incident that caused traffic mayhem.
A construction crane was damaged Thursday afternoon in Dartmouth and found to be unstable.
The incident shut down the Macdonald Bridge and several roadways were evacuated- right before the heart of rush hour.
In an emailed statement to our newsroom, the Occupation Health and Safety department says their next steps now include disassembling the crane, and then investigate what caused the incident.
“Nova Scotia has rigorous crane safety regulations, which adopt the most current standards from the Canadian Standard Association for tower cranes. These include mandatory inspections and certifications by an engineer once a crane is constructed, as well as annual engineering inspections. Crane operators are also required to perform daily visual inspections to ensure their equipment remains in safe working order.”
Photo: Sean DeWitt
The bridge closure caused massive traffic backups in the afternoon Thursday, with some main roadways at a standstill well before rush hour.
Cars were barely moving along the 102 from the Joseph Howe exit to Chebucto Road.
Not only that, main arteries, like the Windsor Exchange, the Armdale Rotary and Quinpool Road were clogged.
A listener called in to describe the scene.
“I’m driving a truck here through the city, trying to get home. Got across the [MacKay] bridge there into Dartmouth. Once you’re on the bridge–smooth sailing,” the caller said.
The bridge remained closed through Thursday night but reopened early Friday morning.
Evacuation orders for streets nearby around Faulkner and Wyse Road were lifted several hours later.
OHS the name of the crane and companies involved cannot be named while the investigation is ongoing.
