The contractor on Taichung’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) construction project violated regulations before a fatal accident occurred at the construction site, a local government official said yesterday.
Taichung Transportation Bureau Director-General Wang Yi-chuan (王義川) said contractors are required to give notice of their construction work at least three days in advance, but Far Eastern Construction Co began hoisting a steel girder on an elevated section of Taichung MRT’s Green Line on Friday afternoon, three days ahead of schedule.
The contractor sent faxes at about 3pm on Friday to eight local agencies, including the Transportation Bureau, to notify them that the steel girder would be hoisted between 4pm and 8pm the same day, the official said.
That was a violation of the regulations that ban contractors from carrying out work unless three-day advance notice is given, Wang said, adding that the hoisting of steel girders can only be done from 11:30pm to 5:30am and absolutely not during the day.
The Taichung City Government has imposed a fine of NT$100,000 (US$3,200) on the Taipei City Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS), which is responsible for the construction of the Green Line in Taichung, Wang added.
China Steel Structure Co, a downstream contractor of Far Eastern Construction Co, apologized yesterday and said it would fully cooperate with its proprietor and prosecutors in the investigation into the fatal incident.
The accident occurred on an elevated section of the Taichung MRT Green Line at about 5pm on Friday, when a 43m, 209 tonne steel girder fell from a height of about three stories onto a busy road, killing four people and injuring another four.
Media reports have linked the accident to a request by Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) that the Green Line be completed in 2018, two years ahead of schedule.
Lin rejected the speculation on Saturday, saying that he hopes the MRT project can be completed in 2018, but not at the expense of construction site safety.
The mayor said the accident obviously resulted from human error.
The construction work on the 16.7km Green Line, which began in 2009 and is 60 percent complete, has been suspended until prosecutors complete their investigation of the incident.
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