A load of construction rods spilled Tuesday morning from a crane being used to build an apartment building in downtown Portland, crushing a section of the fence surrounding the site.
No one was injured and there was no further damage, said Brian Knudsen, the Oregon vice president for general contractor Andersen Construction.
The spill occurred shortly before noon at 140 S.W. Columbia St., where Andersen is building a 20-story apartment tower.
The crane was lifting a bundle of yellow rods used in forming concrete structures. Knudsen said a metal band holding the components together failed while the bundle was a few feet above the truck.
The clatter could be heard in nearby office buildings. Robert Cullison, a security guard working nearby, saw the spill. He said the bundle was about one floor above ground when the materials started spilling out.
“It kind of made my heart leap,” he said, “because I thought somebody might have gotten hurt, but everyone jumped out of the way.”
Construction material that fell from a crane toppled a downtown Portland jobsite fence on Tuesday, June 11, 2019.Elliot Njus/Staff
Other workers on the site rushed over to the site of the spill, but quickly went back to work, Cullison said.
Knudsen said spills like Tuesday’s are rare.
"The safety of our sites and the surrounding area are our top priority,” he said. The firm is investigating what happened, he said.
The building will include 348 apartments, 244 parking spots in an enclosed garage and 15,000 square feet of retail or restaurant space on the ground floor. The developer is Alamo Manhattan of Dallas, Texas.
The block -- bounded by Columbia Street, Clay Street and First and Second avenues -- has been mostly vacant for decades. The building would incorporate the existing entrance to the KOIN Center parking garage.
-- Elliot Njus
enjus@oregonian.com; 503-294-5034; @enjus
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