TORONTO — A large, damaged crane has been successfully secured and removed from a downtown Toronto construction site after hitting an adjacent building last week.
The incident occurred on a PCL Constructors construction site at 160 Front St. near Simcoe and Wellington Streets July 16. A crew of workers and engineers as well as three other cranes were required to dismantle the massive piece of equipment.
“The crane dismantle was successfully completed on the evening of Friday, July 17, 2020 without incident,” said a PCL spokesperson in an email to the Daily Commercial News. “Utilizing three mobile cranes in sequence, we secured and removed the damaged boom of the luffing crane.
“The south side of the construction site reopened this morning (July 20), while the north side will remain secured for the active investigation.”
The incident caused two buildings, 145 Wellington St. and 40 University Ave., to be evacuated as a precaution. Due to inclement weather, the decision was made to hold off on dismantling efforts until the morning of July 17.
The cause of the incident is still unknown and the investigation is ongoing.
“The safety of all workers and the neighbouring community remains our top priority,” the spokesperson said. “We are fully co-operating with the investigation into this incident and are unable to share further details at this time.”
Emergency services responded to reports that a crane had struck a building in the city the morning of July 16. The crane operator was able to climb down on their own, Toronto Police reported. Toronto Fire secured the structure until engineers arrived on scene to determine how to dismantle it. They also assisted with evacuating the buildings and making sure everyone was safe.
According to the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, on July 16 two ministry inspectors and one ministry engineer attended the worksite and one requirement was issued to PCL Constructors Canada Inc. On July 17, two ministry inspectors and two ministry engineers returned to the worksite to continue the investigation.
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