Covered-bridge case against Transportation Department adjourned
A WorkSafeNB case launched against the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure after the decking of a covered bridge collapsed under the weight of an excavator was adjourned Monday until February, when pleas are expected.
A government contractor's overweight excavator dropped through the deck of the century-old covered bridge spanning the Hammond River on Oct. 5, 2016.
The Transportation Department was charged with failing to take every reasonable precaution to ensure the health and safety of its employees and with failing to ensure the health and safety of anyone having access to the project site.
It was the second court appearance on the matter in which the department has not entered any pleas.
Provincial court Judge Henrik Tonning granted the further adjournment until Feb. 22 at 9:30 a.m.
WorkSafeNB first laid the two charges under the New Brunswick Occupational Health and Safety Act in October.
The bridge is on Route 860 at the end of French Village Road in southwestern New Brunswick.
Contractor Gary McKinney, the excavator operator, was transported to hospital but told CBC News at the time that he was uninjured.
Historic bridge
He'd been hired to repair the decking of the bridge, which was built in 1912.
The historic bridge has a weight limit of 12 tonnes, according to a posted sign. The 312C L excavator is listed as weighing more than 13 tonnes on the manufacturer's website.
It was carrying a heavy load of wood at the time.
After consulting the community, the province initially agreed to repair the bridge rather than replace it.
Modular replacement
But significant wood rot was discovered after steel was removed from the bottom of the bridge structure.
The structural integrity of the bridge was deemed no longer safe and the department announced in July it would be replaced with a modular bridge instead.
The new bridge is expected to be open to traffic in January 2018, the department has said.
