Thursday, February 16, 2006

Second Lone Star Infrastructure employee killed in SH-130 toll road construction project

Man killed during SH-130 work

2/16/06

By Kurt Johnson
Taylor Daily Press
Copyright 2006

The second death of an employee working on the SH-130 construction project occurred early Wednesday afternoon northeast of Georgetown.

According to Kevin Stofle of the Georgetown Police Department, Jorge Hernandez, 38, of Austin was working in front of a paving auger and was caught in the machine as the auger was rotating.

The accident happened at 1:30 p.m. at the toll road's intersection with FM 971, north of US 29.

Hernandez was employed by Lone Star Infrastructure (LSI), one of the companies working on the toll road in association with Fluor Daniel, Inc., the general contractor building the 49-mile toll road through a $1.4 billion contract with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDot).

Construction on the project has been shut down temporarily while LSI performs a safety inspection, according to LSI spokesman Justin Keener.

The accident that killed Hernandez was the second time an LSI employee was fatally injured on the toll road project. In June, Concepcion Figueroa, 22, was killed his first day on the job in eastern Travis County when he was hit by a trenching bucket.

Keener said LSI is investigating what caused Wednesday's accident in order to ensure steps are taken to avoid such accidents in the future.

According to Keener, LSI employees receive extensive safety training before starting work.

The fast pace of construction on the toll road has created a flurry of activity in the area. In addition to the work being performed in the new toll road's route, there is substantial truck traffic hauling construction materials to the various sites where work is occurring.

The northern portion of SH-130 stretches from north of Georgetown to Niederwald. The work on the northern half of the project is much further along that work on the south end. According to LSI, sections of the roadway will be opened as work is completed. The first section is expected to be open to traffic by mid-2007, and the entire 49-mile stretch is scheduled to be completed by the end of next year.

Copyright © 2006 Taylor Daily Press www.taylordailypress.net

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