Keeping track of all the constantly changing road work zone construction projects throughout Chicago, Cook County, and the greater Chicagoland metropolitan area is a daunting task. Fortunately, the Illinois Department of Transportation (“IDOT”) provides lots of great information about the progress of our historic infrastructure plan dubbed “Rebuild Illinois.” IDOT, for instance, provides an online regional map of the state which places Chicago and Cook County within its “IDOT Region 1.” Other parts of the Land of Lincoln may be considered as part of greater “Chicagoland,” such as parts of IDOT’s Regions 2 and 3. To learn more about “Rebuild Illinois,” from its legislative history to funding details, read “Rebuild Illinois Overview,” published by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (2024).
IDOT also maintains an online listing of “Project Pages,” linking to separate webpages detailing selected road work projects currently in progress, as well as “Study Pages,” for some still in the planning stages. See, “Featured Projects” by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Some of these projects are labelled “Mega Projects,” such as the Jane Byrne Interchange in Downtown Chicago. This single road construction project seeks to update what is considered to be “the most congested interchange in the nation.”
For governmental agencies, safety organizations, and advocates for worker victims and their loved ones, understanding the complexities involved in all these construction road work zones is extremely important. Chicagoland construction workers, their families, and their friends, likewise have a vested interest in understanding the scope of road work being undertaken in our part of the country today.
Road work construction workers working on these various Chicago area road construction projects face an extremely high risk of being seriously harmed or even killed in an on-the-job injury involving any number of hazards faced in road work. Each road work zone is unique in its work accident risks.
However, one of the most common dangers shared by most road work zones is trenching and excavation of some sort. Most of these infrastructure projects will need workers tasked with trenching and excavation in order to get the work done. And trenching is notoriously dangerous for any construction worker, no matter how experienced.
Chicago Road Construction Trenching and Excavation Dangers
Construction workers on different road work zones may face very different risks in trenching and excavation depending upon the characteristics of the job at hand, the time of day, the equipment required, machinery used, and much more.
Consider the variables that come with road work infrastructure plans of the tremendous scope of “Rebuild Illinois,” which include things like:
- Whether or not new drainage systems will be required;
- Whether or not new utility lines are needed;
- The condition of sewage lines and the need for repair or replacement;
- The need to lay new fiber optic cable lines for internet access;
- Repair or replacement of flawed or failing bridge foundations;
- Repair or replacement of flawed or failing support structures;
- The need for street lighting and corresponding electrical systems;
- Removal and replacement of pavement;
- Widening of roadways;
- Adding curbs and gutters to collect rainwater runoff; and
- Repairing or replacing storm sewer systems.
Why Is Trenching and Shoring So Hazardous?
At its core, all construction trenching involves working with things that are buried under the earth where the road is, or will be, routed. Things like utilities, pipelines, water pipes, and other things will need to be exposed for removal, replacement, repair, or maintenance. Trenching and shoring are the acts undertaken by road construction workers to access these things and undertake the needed work.
Suffocation; Fractures; Internal Injuries
Trenches are usually made so they are deeper than they are wide. There are reasons for this, but they come with danger to the workers: there is the risk that the trench walls will become unstable, and collapse atop workers within the trench. Dirt and sand walls are understandably weak; however, when these walls collapse upon a construction worker, these forms of soil can be so dense and with such a weight that the worker not only can suffer fractures (broken bones) and internal injuries, but can suffocate from the absence of oxygen.
Electrocution
Trenching and excavation brings other dangers with it besides structure failure. Working near existing utilities puts the road construction worker in harm’s way as various utility lines may be live with electrical current. Absolutely any contact with a live wire in trenching can result in immediate electrocution.
Machinery or Equipment Injuries
Road construction today uses heavy machinery and equipment, as well as specialized trucks and vehicles, to excavate trenches. Trenchers, for instance, are a type of motorized vehicle that the operator uses to build a trench with efficiency and precision. They are considered to be a safer option to having workers manually dig out the trench. However, trenchers can also be dangerous to the operator and others on the jobsite, causing bodily injuries that can result in permanent harm or death.
Serious or Fatal Falls
And then there are the dangers facing all the construction workers who are working around the trench but are not tasked with jobs inside the hole.
Some of the trenches needed on our Chicago road construction projects will be very deep. They will have to be in order to do things like create work areas for bridge reconstruction; find buried cables; etc. Pits can exist; wells can be on the worksite for extended periods of time. All these pose risks of falls that can be catastrophic or deadly to the road construction worker even if they are not involved with trenching or excavation on the project.
For details in the dangers of trenching for construction workers, read our earlier discussions in:
- Excavation Accidents and Trench Injuries on the Construction Site; and
- Growing Danger of Severe Construction Worker Trenching Accidents.
Duty To Provide A Safe Workplace For Workers Against Trench Accidents
Chicago road construction workers need to know that there are duties of worker care and safety placed upon all those with possession, custody, or control of aspects of the road work project. Not just the employer who signs the injured construction worker’s paycheck may have legal liability for injuries sustained in a trenching accident. And the worker’s loved ones may have claims for damages, as well.
Project engineers; architects; designers; manufacturers; shippers; suppliers; maintenance companies; and other construction contractors or supervisors on the site may have legal duties regarding trench safety that form the basis of civil personal injury claims for damages.
For instance, there are safety laws (i.e., 29 C.F.R. §1926.501) that mandate any excavation six feet (6’) deep, or deeper (yes, they can be much deeper), must be provided with safety measures to protect against falls. There should be barricades; fences; guardrails; etc. as well as sturdy covers on any pit or shaft. If the worker is harmed from falling into a trench that failed to have these safety measures in good working order, then several parties may be liable for a breach of duty.
Read: Who Can Be Held Liable for Construction Worker Accidents? and Multiple Employers on the Construction Site: Who Is Liable For Construction Worker Accidents?
The construction worker victim will want to investigate benefits available under the workers’ compensation policy provided by the employer. There is no need to establish fault here, and benefits are limited to those defined by statute.
Personal injury damage claims may also be available under various state and federal laws, such as product liability; negligence; premises liability; failure to warn, and more. These civil damage claims can be pursued by the worker and certain family members provided by law (think spouse, minor children, etc.)
For more on potential damages, read:
- Damages are Different: Workers Compensation vs. Third Party Personal Injury Claims
- Work Accident in Illinois or Indiana: Workers Compensation Claim vs. Personal Injury Damages
- Who Can Claim Damages After a Work Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
- What are Legal Damages After a Work-Related Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
For Chicago road construction workers, daily routines on the job come with an amazing number of hazards that can cause serious or deadly bodily injuries in an instant. Trenching is particularly dangerous, in an industry recognized as one of the most dangerous lines of work in the country.
See:
- Construction Worker’s Risk of Dying on the Job Jumps 41% According to New Report
- Construction Workers in Indiana and Illinois Deserve Respect for Working One of the Most Dangerous of Jobs
- Construction Worker’s Danger of Being Hurt or Killed on the Job: High Risk and Little Protection.
Also read earlier entries in our series on Chicago Road Work Construction Accident Dangers:
- Struck By or Caught-In-Between Accidents in Road Work Zones: Chicago Construction Dangers
- Reckless Driving in Chicago Road Work Accidents
- Dangers From Work Trucks Facing Road Construction Workers in Chicago
- Asphalt Dangers to Workers in Chicago Area Road Work Zones
- Electricity Accident Dangers for Road Work Construction Workers in Chicagoland.
Trenching on any road work zone must be done, but the risks that come with trenching and excavation on our Chicago construction sites cannot be underestimated. Please be careful out there!
