Engineer’s report finds removal of supports caused Kingston causeway bridge to buckle [Video]

Workers tasked with repairing the LaSalle Causeway bridge not only removed “critical” supports from the top of a member that helped bear its massive counterweight, they also pulled some off the bottom, reducing its strength to less than half and causing it to buckle, according to a report obtained by CBC.

The 20-page document, titled Failure Analysis of the Lasalle Causeway Bascule Bridge Diagonal 15-17N, provides an expert opinion on the likely cause of the March 30 failure, which ultimately led to the demolition of the century-old span in Kingston, Ont.

The report was commissioned by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), which owns the causeway, and completed by engineer Colin MacDougall for consulting firm Sigma Risk. While the analysis aimed to provide clarity about why the bridge failed, its conclusions are already being contested.

Representatives for Landform Civil Infrastructures (LCI), the contractor for the project, describe the report as …