Some impressive and massive road work construction projects are currently underway in the Chicago area, where huge and heavy machinery and equipment will be needed by workers to get the job done. Among them, the ongoing Foster Avenue Bridge Construction Project – one of 36 bridges being rehabilitated along our Kennedy Expressway. Read, “Foster Avenue Bridge project to bring detours, ramp closures through 2026,” written by Gabriella Premus and published by FOX32-Chicago on November 5, 2024; and Kennedy Expressway Bridge Rehabilitation Project, published by the Illinois Department of Transportation (with details on the three-year project covering 2023; 2024; and 2025).
For everyone on the job doing road work construction here in Chicagoland, it is vital to know the risks of harm that come with these big machines and complicated pieces of equipment that come with any large road project, especially things like bridges; ramps; drainage; and the like. Chief among them: struck-by or caught-in-between accidents.
Every construction worker on a Chicago road work zone is protected by legal duties of care as well as industrial standards that define the levels of safety to be provided regarding heavy machinery and equipment. These are owed to the worker by all those with possession, custody, or control of aspects of the project.
Types of Heavy Machinery or Equipment in Road Work Zones
Construction work varies, of course, according to the project itself. Residential construction needs very different things than the building of a Chicago office tower. And for road work construction, workers will often be asked to work with or alongside dangerous heavy equipment and machinery that includes:
Asphalt Pavers
This machine allows workers to put down an even layer of asphalt, using a hopper to take the hot asphalt from the dump truck to the road surface.
Bulldozers
Bulldozers can be huge and very powerful. They are used to grade, level, or clear land, rock, or construction debris. Their tracks enable them to move all over the uneven surfaces of a road work zone easier than a vehicle on wheels.
Concrete Cutters
This is a heavy construction mechanism that helps workers take off the old concrete or decking from bridges and the like. The cutters or shears may work in tandem with other pieces of heavy machinery, mounted on things like excavators. These things are powerful enough to break up solid, longstanding concrete and remove it without harming the surface beneath it.
Concrete Pumps
Concrete pumps help workers move concrete into difficult spots, like underneath a structure, overhead for a ramp or a bridge, or reinforcing things like highway pillars. The pumps do most of the work here, pushing the concrete as directed by the workers via long hoses.
Cranes
Cranes on a road work construction site can sit on top of specialized truck beds or they can be setting stationary on the site itself. Cranes can be enormous monster machinery, giving the road construction worker the ability to lift and move and maneuver heavy steel beams into place, as well as concrete panels for a bridge, or even take needed equipment from spot to spot. Cranes are also essential in removing debris after a demolition.
Excavators
Excavators help in moving earth in a road project. They work from a platform on rotation, enabling the operator to prepare the ground for grading, as well as to dig a foundation; build a trench; or take away debris.
Graders
Graders have blades that help the road construction worker to make sure the road surface is nice and level. The blade adjusts, moving things until the roadbed is perfect for paving with an asphalt or concrete surface.
Pile Drivers
Pile drivers are amazingly powerful hammer-like machines, and the worker uses them to force things made of steel or concrete down into the soil or earth, like piles or piers.
Rollers (Compactors)
Rollers, also known as compactors, have the job of compacting things like soil or asphalt to achieve the necessary roadway thickness while maintaining its surface smoothness. There are different types, used for different tasks, such as padfoot rollers and pneumatic rollers.
The Danger of Deadly Struck-By or Caught In-Between Incidents for Construction Workers
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) explains that there are technically two kinds of struck dangers for workers: being “struck by” an object; and being “struck against” the object. From OSHA:
One in four “struck by vehicle” deaths involve construction workers, more than any other occupation. It is important to point out that in construction, struck-by hazards can resemble caught-in or -between hazards.
Key to differentiating between these two types of accidents, struck or caught, is the impact involved that harms the worker. If the impact itself creates the injury, it is considered a “Struck” accident. If the worker suffers bodily harm from the force of being crushed between objects, it is a “Caught” or “Caught-in-between” accident.
Struck accidents in any Chicagoland road work zone can be any one of the following, involving the heavy equipment and machinery in the above list, as well as on-site motor vehicles like dump trucks or forklifts:
- struck by flying object;
- struck by falling object;
- struck by swinging object; and
- stuck by rolling object.
These risks are unacceptably high. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) warns us that (footnotes omitted):
[T]he National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) reports … among 75 reports investigating 78 roadway work zone fatalities, 41 (55%) incidents were directly related to construction vehicles and equipment operating inside the work zone. These incidents included equipment running or backing over victims and victims being caught in or between equipment.
Duties of Care and Safety to Protect Against Struck and Caught Accidents in Road Work Zones
There are several federal safety regulations that mandate legal duties to protect road construction workers from being hurt or killed in struck-by or caught-in-between accidents. First of all, there is the General Duty Clause (read more here) alongside specific safety laws that include 29 CFR 1910.269 and 29 CFR 1926.200.
Additionally, there are a great many industrial standards established by the American Society of Safety Professionals (“ASSP”) which also define duties of safety against these recognized road work dangers. These include A10.47-2021 (Work Zone Safety for Roadway Construction).
Moreover, there are numerous sources of safety information intended to help those with control, possession, or custody of aspects of any road work project in keeping all workers safe from being hurt in a struck or crushing accident. One example: the Center for Construction Research and Training Program to Prevent Struck-By Incidents. This is a free resource offered to project managers; safety directors; and “any others responsible for keeping construction workers safe on the job.”
Chicago Road Work Construction Workers Hurt in a Struck-By or Crushed-In-Between Accident
For any worker hurt on the job in a road work construction accident involving heavy machinery or equipment and suffering struck or crushing injuries, there are state and federal laws on the books that exist to help that accident victim and their loved ones find justice in the aftermath.
Each case is unique and deserves individual respect and consideration, as accident reconstruction experts work to determine the reasons for what has happened and all the parties who may have legal liability for damages.
Reconstructionists and construction accident lawyers will look for things like:
- Failures to define the scope of the road work project
- Failures to set a proper construction sequence for the road work
- Failures to establish safe locations for all machinery and equipment on the site
- Failures to establish safe locations for all workers on the site
- Failures to inspect the machinery and equipment before each use to make sure it is in proper working order
- Failures to purchase and provide the proper machinery and equipment
- Failures to purchase and provide the proper Personal Protective Equipment
- Failures to have a reasonable work area diagram
- Failures to fix machinery and equipment movement for each operation
- Failures to fix movements of all workers with machinery and equipment for each operation
- Failures to maximize daily traffic routes for workers, machinery, and equipment on the site for worker safety
- Training programs in place for safety in the use and proximity to construction machinery and equipment
- Plans in place for emergency situations including need for immediate response and medical care and treatment after any struck or crushing accident on site.
Investigations may reveal that more than one party has a legal responsibility for what occurred due to a breach in duty. For more, read Multiple Employers on the Construction Site: Who Is Liable For Construction Worker Accidents? and Who Can Be Held Liable for Construction Worker Accidents?
For more on Chicagoland road work zone dangers, see:
- Asphalt Dangers to Workers in Chicago Area Road Work Zones
- Electricity Accident Dangers for Road Work Construction Workers in Chicagoland
- Reckless Driving in Chicago Road Work Accidents
- Workers Face Great Danger from Illinois Highway Road Work Construction Accidents
- Demolition Work: Risk of Severe Injury or Death on the Job
- Heavy Equipment Accidents on the Job in Illinois and Indiana
- Fatal Construction Work Accident: Injuries from Being Struck By Object
- Caught In-Between Hazards: One of OSHA’s “Fatal Four” Deadly Construction Accidents.
Chicago road construction projects will be intense and active for the next few years. Road work construction is very dangerous, especially because of the risks involved in the use of its needed machinery and equipment. Please be careful out there!
