Cleanup of Willits bridge collapse to be completed this week

Steel clawed excavators on Tuesday were chewing their way through the splintered remains of framework from a section of the Highway 101 Willits bypass that collapsed last week, briefly trapping two men and injuring at least three.

The wood, steel and concrete debris is expected to be cleared by week’s end but it’s uncertain when work will begin to reconstruct the 150-foot span, said Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie. Meanwhile, other work on the viaduct and the rest of the $275 million bypass is continuing, he said.

Caltrans investigators have yet to determine a cause for the collapse, Frisbie said.

“It’s possible we may never know what occurred,” he said.

Cal OSHA also is investigating the collapse because three workers were seriously injured. Agency officials say it could be months before they have a report on what went wrong and who’s to blame. The workers’ employer, Flatiron West Inc., would not release the men’s names or conditions.

Possible causes for the structure’s collapse could include flaws in the design of the framework or the materials, Frisbie said. Such flaws would not be reflective of a larger problem with the bridge’s design, Frisbie said.

“This was not a bridge failure. This was a failure of the temporary falsework,” he said.

The framework was designed and built by Colorado-based Flatiron West, a large-scale infrastructure contractor whose projects include bridges, highways, airport runways, tunnels and dams. Its insurance company is likely to pick up most of the tab for the collapse and the repairs aren’t expected to cost taxpayers much, if anything, Frisbie said.

He said Flatiron also is likely to be held responsible for the injuries suffered by three of its employees.

Flatiron has been investigated five times since 2010 in connection with accidents, according to the OSHA website. Only one listing summarizes the reasons for the investigation. It stemmed from a 2010 incident in which a man working on a bridge demolition lost four toes and part of his left foot after being struck by a slab.

Caltrans has been investigated seven times for accidents in the same time period. Details of the accidents were not available online.

In addition to Flatiron, Cal OSHA’s investigation of the Willits bypass accident includes Caltrans and contractor DeSilva Gates, officials said.

While dramatic, the collapse is not expected to create another significant delay in the project, which has been stalled multiple times by lawsuits, protests and run-ins with regulatory agencies.

The 5.9-mile bypass is being built around Willits to alleviate traffic jams on Highway 101, where cars currently crawl through town. But critics contend it’s bigger than necessary and is causing needless environmental damage to the once bucolic Little Lake Valley east of Willits.

Some area residents now say they also worry whether it will be safe to drive over and under the bypass.

The collapse also dumped wet concrete into Haehl Creek, which runs under the fallen bridge framework. Wet concrete contains lime, which is toxic to fish. Frisbie said about a dozen small fish have been found dead downstream of the collapse. None were threatened steelhead or salmon. Fish and Wildlife officials said it’s not clear whether the bridge collapse is to blame.

“A lot of fish die in the winter period,” said state Fish and Wildlife biologist Scott Harris.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MendoReporter