Caltrans Finds Scaffolding Fall Nobody’s Fault

The collapse of tons of scaffolding at a Century Freeway construction site was caused by an “unforeseeable failure of support columns,” the state Department of Transportation reported Wednesday.

Steel beams and wood posts from a ramp connecting the San Diego Freeway with the unfinished Century Freeway came crashing down onto Imperial Highway on Sept. 17.

There were no injuries in the incident near Los Angeles International Airport.

In its report, Caltrans said no one was to blame for the mishap.

“A statistically improbable combination of circumstances” created conditions that were “not foreseen by either contractor or state engineering personnel,” the report said.

The connector ramp under construction had been completed and was not affected by the incident, the report said.

The contractor, Kasler Corp. of San Bernardino, had removed some of the posts supporting the upper portion of the scaffolding about five weeks before the collapse.

As the concrete road continued to “cure” and gain additional strength, it settled, the report said. The settling placed weight on the scaffolding and caused the unbraced supports to tilt, leading to the collapse of a 125-foot section of scaffolding.