BRIDGE PROBE CONTINUES - CN bridge worker - questions safety By DAVE TAYLOR WORKERS WHO were on the railway bridge that col- lapsed near Terrace last month say the comtauction crew’s safety was compromised to save money and prevent the in- terruption of train service. Glen Hickey, who lost a leg in the accident, says the work site was “‘chaotic’’ as crews rushed to replace wooden beams with steel before the next trains crossed. “We were often doing five things at once,” he said Sat- urday fom a Vancouver hospital bed. ‘'A lot of things were in chaos.”’ Hickey, 25, had been at the Terrace job site for six weeks before the accident. He says the whole process of repairing the aging bridges instead of rebuilding them from ground up was seriously flawed and likely done to save CN money. “CN was dealing with people’s lives,” he says, “I’m lucky to be here. My back’s broke and my leg’s gone — hard shape because of a stupid bridge.” Hickey was working for Scott Steel, an Edmonton firm contracted by CN to do the work. On Oct. 27, he was on the bridge, helping guide a steel beam into place when the structure collapsed. According to Hickey, every move is normally watched carefully and the beams are slowly put into position. But when the accident occurred, Hickey says, the beam ‘‘just flew in there’? without any pric: radio communication. “All I remember was the screeching of the brakes, but it kept on coming,” he says. “Then everything just went snapola. It was the worst thiag I*ve ever felt in my life,’ Crane operator Willlam Carson was killed in the accident and John Marti of Telkwa died on the way to the hospilal. No local workers were seriously injured in the collapse. But Tertace first aid-attendant Shane Spencer had to jump from the side of the bridge to save his life. Spencer disagrees with some of the allegations of unsafe work practices at the site. But he agrees that the whole method of repairing the bridges instead of rebuilding them was dangerous. “Pye been working on bridge sites for three years and this site was one of the safest,” he says, ‘'We were doing everything we could to make sure this kind of thing wouldn’t happen.’’ But Spencer admits some of the five previous bridges he had worked on between Terrace and Kitimat were quite nerve-wracking, One was nearly three times as long and higher than the one that collapsed. *‘When the craze rolled onto that bridge, the whole thing creaked and shook,”’ he says, ‘It was pretty scary.”’ Spencer says a CN safety inspector actually came out to the accident site the day before the collapse and com- mented on how safe it seemed to be. Spencer also says the crew held regular safety meetings, and as soon as a safety problem was discovered, “it was fixed instantly.” And while it has been suggested that the steel beam The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 19, 1997 - A13 being lifted into place at the time of the accident weighed 25 tonnes, Spencer disagrees. ‘*That’s a bunch of crap,’’ he says, arguing that the beam probably only weighed 11 tonnes. But Spencer says the bridges ought to have been com- - pletely rebuilt, rather than just fixed, “*] had been doing it (working on the bridges) for so long that I was used to it,”’ he says. ‘But that bridge probably should have been replaced years ago.”’ CN communications officer Christine Shervin disagrees, She says the bridges were perfectly safe. “Tf we hadn't touched it, it would have been fine,’’ she says, “We weren’t there to fix anything. We were upgrad- ing itto handle greater weight.” Shervin says the accusations of safety problems are ‘very troubling.’’ ‘We're really hard-pressed to under- stand some of these allegations,’’ she says. John Marti’s widow, Letty Mussche, is contemplating legal action against CN because of her husband’s death. She claims thal files detailing safety infractions at the Ter- race site have gone missing from his computer. But CN denies any knowledge of that incident. “*To imply that CN absconded with the files is complete- ly wrong,”' Shervin says. Investigations by CN Rail, Workers Compensation and Transport Canada are continuing. Shervin says the bridge is expecied to be opened again tomorrow. RULES: 1. Simply unscramble the names the business on this’ page. 2. Clip out entry form and mail or bring into the Terrace Standard, 3210 Clinton St. Terrace. 3. Draw made each week for first this page. correct entry. $25 shopping voucher redeemable at participating merchants on 4. 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