OSHA Strategic Partnership Program<< Archived Success Stories

Background:

The Interstate 64 Reconstruction Project (Partnership), located in St. Louis, MO, began in the spring of 2007 and was completed in December 2009. The project involved:
  • The rebuilding and upgrading of all pavement, bridges and interchanges between Spoede Road in St. Louis County and Kingshighway Blvd. in St. Louis City
  • New high quality interstate-to-interstate connection between I-64 and I-170
  • Addition of one lane in each direction between Spoede Road and I-170
  • Increasing traffic flow through better design, with elimination of short, tight entrance/exit ramps and merges and addition of dedicated exit lanes
  • Enhanced safety with wider shoulders
There were three phases to the project:
  • 2007 – off peak closure of I-64 and I-170 reduced from three lanes to two;
  • 2008 – I-64 closed from Ballas Road to Brentwood Blvd., two-lane ramps from I-170 to and from I-64 to the east;
  • 2009 – I-64 completed and open west of I-170 including the new ramps to I-170, I-64 closed from Hanley Kingshighway; project complete and all lanes open
Partnership Results:

A key goal of the OSP was to promote safety and health by increasing training opportunities for the participants. Over the entire duration of the project, 750 employees, managers, and supervisors were trained and 24,000 training hours were conducted. Training topics included fall protection, trenching, road construction, lead, silica, scaffolds, confined spaces, and site-inspections. Throughout the project, safety and health presentations at the SIB supervisor safety training included core safety systems. Granite Construction company and local team member, Fred Weber Inc, also delivered OSHA 10- and 30-hour courses and tools box talks to its members. Each of the OSP participants had at least one representative at the worksite that conducted self-inspections on a daily basis. There were a total of 28,121 self-inspections conducted which resulted in 4,483 hazards or serious violations being identified and corrected.

As a result of this partnership, 32 contractors implemented or improved safety and health management systems.

The OSP Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR) was 2.6 and the OSP Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) was 1.7 which is 50% and 40% respectively below the 2008 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Industry National Average for their construction industry.

Year Hours Total Case TCIR # of Days Way from work Restricted and Transferred Activity Cases DART
2007 833,662 12 2.87 5 1.2
2008 1,145,682 13 4.4 11 1.92
2009 446,222 7 3.13 5 2.24
Project Total 2,425,566 32 2.63 21 1.73
2008 BLS for NAICS 2373     5.3   2.9


Partnership Objectives:

The key objectives of the OSP were to: Implement a fall protection plan where work was being performed six feet or more above a lower surface; develop a comprehensive inspection system that would cover a variety of construction hazards; offer and conduct training for employers and employees to help them properly identify and abate hazards; and require all contractors and subcontractors to develop and implement safety and health management systems.

Origin: Region VII, St. Louis Area Office

Partners: Gateway Constructors; Fred Weber Inc. and 30 active subcontractors during the combined project.

Partnership Signed: April 27, 2007

Industry: Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction (2373)

Employees: 750

Employers: 32

Source/Date: Jacalyn Wheeler, Program Analyst, OSHA, Region VII

Status: Closed; Partnership completed on December 7, 2009