December 1, 2008 – 10:18 am
A 3-story section of The Collection, the Morgan Group’s 528-unit apartment complex under construction behind the new Costco on Weslayan and Richmond apparently collapsed early Sunday. A Swamplot reader sends in these photos of the scene following the accident, along with a few sharp comments:
The 4 story “stick built” apartment facility known as “The Collection” (www.collectionliving.com) became a “collection of sticks” early Sunday morning. It seems as if the contractors and the Morgan Group were in a Thanksgiving hurry to get home for turkey and giblets and forgot to “tie in” to the adjoining 3 and 4 story section of the main building.
Good thing it was a Sunday as Monday morning will bring back a tribe of contractors to push to get this facility on the Harris County Tax Roll by Summer 2009….Someone could have been seriously hurt if not killed. The Morgan Group should be “thankful” this Thanksgiving that it was not the case - and that they can “rush” to completion.
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Read more about: 77027, Apartments, Construction Accidents, Construction Problems, Construction Quality, Greenway Commons, Greenway Plaza, Hazards, New Construction: Residential
Two separate news releases update yesterday’s report of the wall collapse at Rice’s McMurtry College construction site. From the University:
As construction crews saw the lightning strikes from the rapidly developing storm, they began vacating work sites and securing them for the storm. A small group was finishing work at McMurtry College, one of two residential colleges under construction on the north side of campus, when the site was struck by powerful wind gusts that are reported to have measured more than 60 miles per hour in some areas. Five concrete block walls under construction for rooms on the second floor toppled. . . .
OSHA has conducted an investigation of the accident. The worksite remains closed for further investigations. Based on what is known to date, the accident is believed to have been caused by the sudden severe windstorm.
More details below.
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Read more about: 77005, Construction Accidents, Hazards, New Construction, Rice-University
An email forwarded to us from the Rice University president’s office:
This afternoon around 4 p.m. cinder-block walls under construction on the west side of the second floor of McMurtry College collapsed during a severe thunderstorm. According to police reports from the scene, eight construction workers are believed to have been injured: one was pronounced dead at the scene, four were taken from the site on stretchers and transported to the hospital and three walked from the scene and were treated at the site before being taken to the hospital. No further information is available about the injured people at this point. Everyone at Rice University is shocked and saddened by the accident and sends their prayers and best wishes to the workers and their families.
Read more about: 77005, Construction Accidents, Hazards, New Construction, Rice-University
