Lessons From the Worst Construction Disasters of All Time

From catastrophic collapses to structural mishaps, some of the most unfortunate construction projects of all time are so painful because they are 100% preventable. 

These disasters serve as monuments to calamity caused by laziness, ignorance and frugality, and serve as poignant reminders of the importance of planning, precision and safety.

These high-profile incidents showcase the challenges faced by builders and engineers, emphasizing the need for continuous improvement in construction practices and providing us all a little relief that we weren’t “that guy.” In response to these tragedies, the construction industry has intensified its focus on risk assessment, technological advancements and regulatory compliance.

Innovations, such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) and the ability to scale down and test models using advanced materials, have revolutionized project planning and execution, enhancing the new impossible for builders everywhere.

Organizations like the International Code Council (ICC) and the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) play pivotal roles in promoting global standards and fostering a culture of collaboration.  

However painful they are to look back on, humans generally learn most from failing and these disasters provide everyone who works on a jobsite a window into the process of learning from our mistakes.

Let’s check out these disasters in detail. Please note the following list is far from exhaustive and is in no particular order.

The Collapse of the Quebec Bridge: An Engineering Failure

The Quebec Bridge was going to be the largest cantilever bridge in existence, until it collapsed … twice, during construction. The first fatal collapse happened in August of 1907, just after construction had started. Of the 86 workers on the structure, 75 were killed when, in just 15 seconds, the south anchor arm, the cantilever arm and the partially completed suspended span, fell 150 feet into the St. Lawrence River. Deciding to eschew any investigation into the incident, the Canadian government saw the vital rail link for the national railway system as too important to delay. So, in 1913, construction began again and by September 1916, the bridge was nearly completed, except for the work of hoisting the center span and connecting it to the cantilever arms. During this process, the span tore away from its lifts and fell into the river, carrying another 13 men to Davy Jones’ Locker. A little more than a year later the bridge was finally open to traffic and is still operating today.

The Collapse at Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal: The Sky is Falling

The Charles de Gaulle airport was inaugurated in May 2004, and shortly after, a huge portion of the roof of Terminal 2E collapsed. The shocking event killed four people and caused severe injuries to three more. The 1,475 foot-long terminal building was an elliptical tube constructed of concrete rings. 

The official investigation report found that the structure had failed due to a lack of detailed feasibility analysis, causing numerous design flaws that were not caught during construction. These included a lack of redundant supports, poorly placed reinforcing steel, weak outer steel struts, shotty concrete support beams and overall low-resistance to temperature fluctuations. The structure was rebuilt with a metal framework and reopened in the spring of 2008.

The Disaster of St. Francis Dam: Lazy Engineering + Cheap Concrete = Epic Failure 

The Saint Francis Dam was a curved concrete gravity dam built between 1924 and 1926 in order to help meet Los Angeles’ growing need for water regulation and storage. It was located about 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The dam was designed and built by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, under the direction of its general manager and chief engineer, William Mulholland. The dam catastrophically failed on March 12, 1928, with the resulting flood killing close to 500 people. The disaster was largely blamed on the use of poor-quality concrete in an equally poor design, which allowed water to undermine the dam’s foundations and ending Mullholland’s legendary career.

The Boston Molasses Massacre: Weak Rivets Wreak Havoc 

Around noon, on the afternoon of Jan. 15, 1919, a tank about the size of a basketball gym filled with molasses burst open in Boston’s North End, flooding the streets with more than two million gallons of sticky liquid that formed a tidal wave more than 25-feet high and moving at 35 miles per hour. The molasses tidal wave and ensuing flood crushed everything in its path, leading to the death of 21 people and injuring 150 more.

Initial speculation pinned fermentation in the storage tank as causing an explosion, since it was set to be made into rum. However, upon further review, analysis suggests the structure of the tank was flawed due to paper-thin sides with brittle rivets supporting the weight of the molasses.

The Collapse of The Tacoma Narrows Bridge: The Power of Unforeseen Forces 

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington was a suspension bridge built between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula. Construction began in 1938, and as soon as the deck was built, it began to move when the wind kicked up — so much so that workers immediately coined the legendary nickname for the bridge: “Galloping Gertie.” After the bridge opened to the public in 1940, damping measures were put in place, but the bridge continued to oscillate. On the morning of Nov. 7, 1940, the bridge’s main span finally collapsed with some help from 40-mile-per-hour winds. The deck flipped and flopped in a twisting motion that gradually increased in amplitude until the deck simply tore apart, killing a dog. While today, computer models, wind tunnels and rigorous testing have eliminated these types of flaws in design, the Narrows Bridge serves as a painful reminder of nature's invisible power.

Imperial Sugar Company Explosion: Sloppiness Can Be Expensive

On a cold winter night in 2008, a fireball ripped through the night sky in Savannah, Georgia, at the Imperial Sugar refinery, killing 14 workers and injuring 36 more. The old building, known locally as the Dixie Crystal refinery, was built in 1916 and was a major importer of sugar into the U.S. The initial explosion happened in the basement and was caused by shoddy housekeeping practices leading to large accumulations of highly combustible sugar dust. After the first explosion ripped through the facility, the shockwave from the initial explosion sent the fine dust airborne, leading to a series of massive secondary explosions spreading throughout the factory. The disaster led to significant changes in regulations for the sugar industry and resulted in criminal charges against the company. At the time it happened, the 118 safety violations and $8.7 million fine was OSHA’s third-largest ever.

The Willow Island Disaster: When Structural Failure Leads to Loss

On April 27, 1978, one of the worst construction accidents in U.S. history took place at Willow Island in West Virginia, where 51 construction workers were killed when a cooling tower under construction at the Pleasants Power Station collapsed. Reports state that many of the laborers who were killed in the collapse were only identified by the contents of their pockets.

A subsequent Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation found that scaffolding was attached to concrete that had not been given enough time to cure while an elaborate hoisting system for the concrete had been modified without proper engineering approval. As a result of this disaster, OSHA adopted new guidelines for protecting construction workers in the upcoming construction safety act, shifting more responsibility from engineers to contractors for formwork decisions.

Thanks to these tragedies, and the hard lessons they taught us, the construction industry has intensified its overall understanding of risk assessment, technological capabilities and regulatory compliance. However, as technology pushes the boundaries of what is possible, we can only wonder what lessons future disasters will hold.