Touhy Ave. Reopens; Fatal I-90 Accident Won't Delay Road Work's Completion (UPDATED)

UPDATED (7:22 p.m. Wednesday, April 6): Information that the accident shouldn't delay the construction project's completion.

Touhy Avenue in Des Plaines is open to traffic again after the fatal collapse of a steel bridge beam from the Jane Addams Tollway killed a construction worker and hurt three others Tuesday, the Daily Herald reports.

The roadway between Wolf Road and Lee Street reopened at about 11 p.m. Tuesday after being closed for about 20 hours. Two lanes of eastbound I-90 that also had been closed because of the accident were reopened at the same time.

RELATED: Officials ID Construction Worker Killed in I-90 Beam Accident

Vincente Santoyo, 47, of Berwyn, was killed when a 45-ton steel beam fell at the construction site on I-90 over Touhy Avenue around 3 a.m. Tuesday. He was pronounced dead at Park Ridge's Advocate Lutheran General Hospital.

Another worker also was being treated at the Park Ridge hospital. Two others were treated at and released from Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.

The workers were in small lift vehicles underneath the interstate bridge beam that was rigged for removal when the load shifted, and the beam fell.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration continues to investigate the accident, but the agency has already told the Chicago Tribune the tragedy could have been prevented, arguing that all accidents like Tuesday's can be avoided so long as OSHA standards and regulations are followed.

RELATED: Live Chicago-area traffic and transit updates

OSHA investigators will be focusing on Judlau Contracting Inc., of New York, the project's general contractor, and Elgin-based Omega Demolition Corp., the subcontractor that employed Santoyo. In the past, Omega has been issued nine OSHA citations, mostly for lead hazards, according to the Daily Herald.

The construction work is part of the $2.5 billion Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) Rebuilding and Widening Project, which spans 62 miles. The project is scheduled to finish later this year.

Although work on the bridge over Touhy has been suspended until the accident's cause is discovered and the construction site deemed safe to work at, tollway officials said Wednesday these delays won't disrupt the project's year-end completion date, the Herald reports.

More via the Daily Herald