Dive Brief:
- An ironworker was killed Saturday while performing work on the $1.5 billion Amazon Air hub project at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) in Hebron, Kentucky, an incident confirmed via an emailed statement to Construction Dive from the general contractor, Whiting-Turner Kokosing JV. The Boone County, Kentucky, coroner has identified the worker as 46-year-old Loren Shoemake and said he died from blunt force trauma.
- The JV said that Shoemake was an employee of subcontractor Columbus Steel Erectors, which did not respond to a request for comments. An airport spokesperson told Construction Dive that CVG Airport first responders were dispatched to the scene at 12:44 p.m. EST after receiving a call related to a workplace injury at the Amazon project site but neither the JV nor the airport provided additional details about the nature of the injury.
- The JV said that a full investigation is underway and that OSHA has investigators on site. In a media statement, Amazon said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, along with the contractors and construction teams during this difficult time."
Dive Insight:
Whiting-Turner Kokosing broke ground on the project last May. The new hub, which will include a ramp tower, sortation facilities and, ultimately, space for up to 100 aircrafts, will help the internet retailer meet its "fast and free" shipping obligations to its customers. AECOM is providing design services for the project and Woolpert is performing planning, civil engineering and surveying services.
The project is scheduled for completion in 2021 and is part of $8 billion of investments — at the airport, fulfillment and customer service centers and Whole Foods stores — that Amazon has made in Kentucky since 1999.
The accident at the Amazon project comes on the heels of injuries on another high-profile construction project last week.
Two structural precast concrete beams reportedly fell on a manlift, seriously injuring the two workers who were operating the piece of equipment at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The venue is in the midst of a $106 million renovation.
The two workers were trapped at first, freed and then hospitalized. While there has been no official confirmation, local media reported that one worker was paralyzed and that the other suffered massive head trauma.
OSHA, according to an agency database, has opened inspections for supplier Gate Precast Inc. in Monroeville, Alabama, general contractor Caddell Construction Co. LLC, of Montgomery, Alabama, and S’N’S Erectors Inc. of Arlington, Texas.
