One killed after bridge under construction near Kearney collapses, police say

One person was killed after a bridge that was under construction collapsed Wednesday near Kearney.

The incident was reported at 1:44 p.m.

Clay County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Sarah Boyd said four people became trapped. One person was declared dead. The other three were able to get out with minor injuries and transported to area hospitals. Everyone has been accounted for, Boyd said.

The bridge is located at 148th Street and Shady Grove Road, about 27 miles northeast of Kansas City, in unincorporated Clay County.

Workers with Lehman Construction Company that had been contracted by Clay County were pouring concrete when the collapse happened, said Clay County spokesman Mike Wilson. Boyd said multiple contracting companies were working at the time of the collapse.

In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, Wilson said the county wished to express its deepest condolences to the families of the workers affected by the collapse.

The two-lane bridge has been closed since 2016 and construction began in May 2021, Boyd said. It had been slated to open early next year.

An engineering contractor had been at the site earlier Wednesday inspecting the bridge before the concrete was poured, Boyd said, and the highway department reported no safety concerns prior to Wednesday.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will conduct an investigation. The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is also investigating.

In Missouri, 2,218 bridges were considered structurally deficient as of 2022, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

This story was originally published October 26, 2022 at 2:42 PM.