Worker Dead After Accident at Water Authority Project Site

Published: 4/11 11:56 am Updated: 4/11 6:35 pm Webster, N.Y.- A construction worker is dead after an accident at the site of the Monroe County Water Authority East Side Water Supply Treatment Plant Project in Webster. It happened while the worker was in a tunnel shaft at the site off Lake Road around 10:30 a.m. Webster Police say a group of five workers was underground at the time of the accident. They were using a train to bore into ground this morning when the worker died at the scene. The victim’s identity has not been released. Webster Police spokesoman Mike Chiapperini said the workers were 163-feet underground. Construction work at the site has been suspended pending an OSHA investigation. Interim Executive Director of the Water Authority Nicholas Noce said our heartfelt condolences go out to the worker’s family. Noce said workers’ safety is their number one priority. The two-year project is in its thirteenth month. Southland Contracting from Austin, Texas is in charge of the project. Webster Police did not say if the worker who died is from Texas or the Rochester area. Southland is building a raw water intake tunnel system, which includes a 5,000 foot section under Lake Ontario.