Backhoe Smashes Into Layton Bridge Under Construction
May 21, 2021, 6:28 PM | Updated: 8:13 pm
LAYTON, Utah – UDOT engineers are making sure a brand that is under construction is safe after a backhoe smashed into it Friday morning.
The accident happened at a site for the US 89 expansion project in Layton.
It’s a huge endeavor. Crews are adding lanes through Davis County. The cost is estimated at more than $500,000.
“Our contractor was transporting an excavator,” said UDOT spokesman John Gleason. “For whatever reason, the arm of the excavator wasn’t put in the proper position and that caused the load to hit the bridge.
The tractor split in half.
A backhoe was ripped in half on the UDOT US 89 project this morning, as a contractor drove it into the new Gordon Avenue bridge in Layton. Engineers are checking out the bridge, but preliminary word is that the structure is not significantly damaged. @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/8nSeGKSpuE
— Mike Anderson (@mikeandersonKSL) May 21, 2021
UDOT managers are investigating whether it was human error or if the arm came unstowed in transit.
Either way, somebody had a real bad Friday.
“We closed down traffic for about 20 minutes while our crews were able to move the excavator off to the side,” Gleason said.
Once off to the side, engineers and workers examined the top half of the excavator and loaded it onto a second semi to be taken away.
The crash took a chunk out of the bridge. Engineers determined initially that it appears to be structurally sound, though they will give it a closer look.
“Looking at what type of repairs need to be made, and how that’s going to affect traffic if there’s any need for lane closures or road closures here in the future,” said Gleason.
Both UDOT and the contractors pay into insurance policies for accidents just like this, so it appears likely that this crash will not impact the overall cost of the project.
