A Hackensack heavy highway and bridge construction company has received a number of citations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, according to the Labor Department agency. OSHA investigators cited the construction company after an investigation into the Route 3 Passaic River Bridge Project. A spokesman for the company says all of the worker safety issues were corrected at the inspection stage of the investigation, and it is unclear how the citation process will go from here.

OSHA inspectors say they found seven serious violations at the construction project. Serious violations in OSHA parlance are those that expose construction workers to hazards that pose a substantial probability of "death or severe physical harm," that the employer knew existed, or should have been aware that the safety hazard existed at the construction site.

Among the seven serious violations, OSHA inspectors claim workers were exposed to injury from potential falls. OSHA inspectors say the site lacked ring buoys, a lifeboat and fall protection for workers at the bridge construction project. Additionally, OSHA says workers were exposed to potential impalement and were allowed to work with machines that had improper protection against unintended startups.

Construction site accident lawyers in New Jersey know that the construction industry in among the most dangerous of all industries for workers. A regional OSHA director says, "The construction industry continues to remain one of the most dangerous and heavy highway and bridge work entails a variety of unique hazards."

The company involved says it "has a fulltime safety consultant and there's a constant awareness and intent to comply with the regulations." Despite the company's statement that it has cured the safety deficiencies, it has until Jan. 19 to formally respond to the OSHA citations and the agency's proposed fines could be reduced.

Source: Clifton Journal via NorthJersey.com, "Clifton bridge safety violations," Tony Gicas, Jan. 12, 2012