Supervisor of $36 million highway project killed on job

MEMPHIS, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? The supervisor of a $36 million road improvement project in Memphis was killed when a crane swinging concrete beams into place at a bridge construction site over the Wolf River slipped and lost its load Wednesday.

Police said two cranes were involved in the accident, one on the east bank of the river and one on the west bank. While a beam was in the air, fire officials said the soil underneath the western crane shifted, sending it into the river.

Phillip Bell, 43, was killed when the beam struck the east bank, flipped upward and struck him as he was standing outside the crane cab. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“The soil ? it’ll have to be checked ? came loose,” said Henry Posey, division chief for the Memphis Fire Department. “It was just like losing your footing.”

Workers had already completed the project’s most daunting task on Saturday ? shutting down Interstate 240 to lay new bridge beams above it.

Bell worked for Dement Construction Co., contractor on the project slated for completion in December 2008. It involves building the two bridges to carry Walnut Grove Road over I-240 and the river, as well as widening the road and building a new interchange at Humphreys Boulevard.

The Division of Occupational Safety and Health in the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development is investigating the accident.

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Information from: The Commercial Appeal, http://www.commercialappeal.com