Casino bridge collapses

Posted at 8:51 AM on July 22, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

Do boarding ramps to floating casinos have gusset plates?

A board ramp to the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana (the one for which you can see billboards every tenth of a mile over much of I-90 in Western Indiana), collapsed today, sending several workers into the water.

The worker said they were all wearing life jackets. The worker said the water is about 18 feet deep where the ramp is.

The Horseshoe was closed at the time of the incident in preparation for the grand opening of the new casino, according to its Web site.

The casino issued a statement saying a "full engineering review" is underway.

(h/t: Tom Weber)

Comments (1)

I'm extremely surprised that the workers were wearing life jackets, it seems to suggest that the outcome was not a complete surprise. This incident seems to be a result of someone's complete lack of common sense or disregard for the safety of the workers. The article states:

one of the three boarding ramps at the casino, which was closed for construction, shifted after not being fully connected to the pavilion

When water is involved in supporting a structure - especially when that structure is connected to a seperate, immobilized structure - such a destabalization shift is to be expected. Therefore establishing a proper connection would be necessary before using the ramp as a bridge.

Posted by Tyler Suter | July 22, 2008 2:57 PM

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