Sidewalk Collapses Under Weight Of Window Washer

The machine was relatively undamaged

Lucky escape for window washer: A man using a 60ft boom lift in San Francisco had a lucky escape yesterday after one of the machines wheels dropped into a void, while driving on the sidewalk/pavement. The accident occurred on Sutter Street in downtown San Francisco when the boom lift, a Genie S-65 belonging to United Rentals, was being driven fully stowed. The operator was unharmed and might have been prevented from being catapulted out of the platform by his harness?

Two tow trucks were called in to pull the lift out of the hole and it was then able to drive off apparently undamaged. The sidewalk surface was less than an inch thick and was spread over the steel beams of an underground basement. The wheel dropped into the space between two beams. City engineer Fuad S. Sweiss said: "The sidewalk has a basement underneath it. The roof of the basement is not designed to carry a 25,000lb fork lift. It should have been parked on the street rather than the sidewalk.” He also said the window washing company ought to have had a permit and that the property owner will be responsible for repairing the damage.

The boom lift broke through the sidewalk and while stowed still created a catapult effect.

Vertikal Comment: If this man had been driving the machine while elevated this might have been a completely different story. Why people think that they can drive such heavy machines on the sidewalk in old neighbourhoods is a mystery. This accident was totally predictable.

SAN FRANCISCO - A cherry picker caved into a small sinkhole on Sutter Street overnight, shutting down the street between Grant Avenue and Kearny Street, a police spokesman said. The crane sank into a weak section of sidewalk in front of a Banana Republic store while its operator was cleaning windows early this morning, said Officer Steven Wonder of the San Francisco Police Department's Central Station. The accident happened at about 2:14 a.m., police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said. The operator was not injured, and called police for assistance, Wonder said. San Francisco's Department of Public Works is assessing the damage, and a crane is being sent to the scene to remove the cherry picker, Wonder said. Sutter Street was still closed mid-morning, and motorists and pedestrians are advised to plan alternate routes, Esparza said.

Sidewalk Collapses Under Weight Of Window Washer, Closing FiDi Street: KTVU broadcast is reporting that Sutter Street is closed between Kearny and Grant after a window washer's cherry-picker rig collapsed at 2 AM, damaging the sidewalk. According to a city engineer KTVU spoke with, the window washer wasn't supposed to be using that style of what he called a "fork lift," which at 25,000 pounds was too heavy to be supported by the sidewalk, which was atop an open, basement area, not solid ground. "Luckily" the engineer told KTVU, the cherry picker "fell between two beams that are supporting this sidewalk" while washing the windows of the Grant Street Banana Republic. The engineer expects that it'll take another hour to remove the window washer's rig. According to the engineer, they have calculated that no damage was done to the beams, and the street remains safe to use. No one was injured in the incident.

Work nearly done on Sutter Street construction project: After a year of construction on Sutter Street, merchants and residents are looking forward to the $8.4 million project’s completion. Kent Hansen, 28, has lived on Reading Street off of Sutter Street for one year and is happy to see work move forward. “I think the project will make the street look better,” Hansen said. “I’m looking forward to the long-term effects.” The project’s construction completion date is planned for mid-March with final finishing touches in April, said Sue Ryan, public information officer for the city. Ryan said an opening event called “Rediscover Historic Folsom” is scheduled to take place in April. No details were available on the event at this time, said Ryan.

Reed said upcoming construction work includes work around the Hacienda Del Rio in the 700 block of Sutter Street and work near Scott Street. Also, the next round of facade work will take place in upcoming weeks on the south side of the 700 block of Sutter Street.