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Work halted on South Station tower after steel beam plummets more than 20 stories
The MBTA asked the company working on the tower to pause construction, according to local reports.
Construction on a tower over South Station has been halted after a steel beam fell and landed above the commuter rail station Wednesday afternoon, according to local reports.
The large steel beam plummeted from the upper floor of the construction site — more than 20 stories — before becoming lodged in the roof of the South Station commuter rail platform, Boston Fire Department Deputy Chief James Greene told The Boston Globe.
No one was injured in the incident, Greene told the Globe.
“It was a busy afternoon so it was certainly a dangerous situation,” Greene said.
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The construction is part of a project to build a 51-story tower that will include both office and residential spaces. The tower, being built by Suffolk Construction Co., is directly above MBTA’s South Station terminal.
Suffolk Construction said Thursday that it has agreed to pause work on the building to investigate the incident, according to local reports.
“In an abundance of caution, OSHA, the MBTA and Suffolk agreed to temporarily shut down the South Station Tower project during the initial investigation into the cause of yesterday’s incident,” the company said in a statement to the Globe. “Suffolk continues to cooperate with that investigation. We will resume work once we are all confident in the safety of the jobsite.”
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The MBTA asked the company to halt construction “immediately” on Thursday because the incident “interfered with the T’s transportation operations and posed a risk to public safety,” a spokesperson for the MBTA told the Globe.
Photos obtained by the Globe showed a damaged window in the South Station Tower. The beam reportedly broke several windows on its way down.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu addressed the incident Thursday, saying the city will work with OSHA to understand what happened.
“The safety of construction sites is not an option,” Wu said. “There should be no question that workers get to go home safe and happy and healthy to their families at the end of each day.”
OSHA has six months to complete an investigation, according to its guidelines.
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