One person is dead and another has been med-flighted to a Boston hospital after an apparent accident at the site of a new I-495 bridge construction project.
Massachusetts State Police said two bridge construction workers fell from a bucket truck around 10 a.m., on Bank Road, near the river’s edge close to routes 110-113, in Haverhill.
“One individual is confirmed dead on the scene and another is being Med-Flighted to Boston, via ambulance to Lawrence General, with serious injuries,” said Carrie Kimball, spokeswoman for Essex County District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett. She said State Police detectives and Crime Scene personnel are in Haverhill assisting investigation into construction accident.
The victims’ names have not been released. Massachusetts Department of Transportation said in a statement, the department is “sad to confirm that two employees working for MassDOT’s contractor on a barge at the I-495 Haverhill Bridge Replacement Project were involved in an accident this morning and one employee has died. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation will be cooperating fully with OSHA and other authorities in determining what occurred to lead to this tragedy.”
It is the first reported fatality on the $110 million bridge replacement project in Haverhill between exits 48 and 49.
SPS New England was awarded the design-build contract last year and construction is expected to run through spring 2022. Three lanes of the new northbound bridge have been completed and are in use, while the remainder of the old bridge is being demolished. Southbound work runs through September 2021. During the project, southbound lanes will temporarily cross over to the new northbound bridge.
When complete, the bridges will accommodate up to five lanes of travel. The new northbound bridge allows for up to three through lanes, one future use lane and an auxiliary lane, officials said. The southbound bridge calls for four travel lanes—three through lanes and one future use lane.