Army News, news from Iraq, - Army Times

Construction worker killed at Carson

FORT CARSON, Colo. — A construction worker died and another was critically injured when a concrete girder broke and sent chunks of debris raining down on them, officials said.

The victims’ names were not released. They were helping erect an office building on this Army post adjacent to Colorado Springs on Monday when the girder broke.

Construction was halted and an investigation was underway Tuesday, said Jim Lesinski, vice president of Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction, the general contractor on the project.

The girder was being placed on top of a wall when it slid off and collapsed, Lesinski said.

The critically injured worker had been in the bucket of a boom truck raised off the ground and was apparently helping guide the girder into place when it broke, Fort Carson Fire Chief Glen Silloway said.

Two other workers suffered minor injuries. All four were employees of Hard Rock Structures Inc., a subcontractor.

More than $373 million in construction is underway at Fort Carson to accommodate an additional 10,000 soldiers and their families expected at the post.